The Stage of History
by SoulCaliburess
Summary: Falling into a new world, one girl finds the fate of the Soul Calibur universe in her hands, after a tragic event... Set during SC1. KilikXOC and many characters included! Rated T for violence, bloodshed and other stuff... Enjoy!
1. The New Legend

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Hello! This is my first fanfiction so bear with it! The whole story is set in Soul Calibur 1, but uses character costumes from the following games, (SC2, 3 and 4). I fit it to which ever I think is best. Yeah, sorry if that bothers you... oh, and the first two chapters is utterly cheesy and romantic... so sorry if I make you hurl._

Chapter 1: The New Legend

The Soul Calibur universe was at stake. Soul Edge has regained power again, by devouring the soul of the young knight, Siegfried, transforming him into Nightmare, and spreading a malfestation across the world. The warriors who needed to embark on the quest to stop Soul Edge haven't, as they think the malfestation was just a disease and not Soul Edge. The warriors also need to create the other half of Soul Edge, the sacred sword Soul Calibur, which is created to stop Soul Edge and restore the balance of the world. However, they can't create Soul Calibur without trying to stop Soul Edge. They needed someone who knew this world, who had watched over them and knew their future. They needed someone to tell them to stop Soul Edge again, before their history begins to fold back…

"I'd wish I was another person; someone beautiful and strong, in another world, freed from all of this… hell." She thought. She lay on her pillow, and as she did, a tear rolled down from her left eye, across the bridge of her nose and onto the bed. Emma fell asleep, unaware that she had fallen into an unexpected coma, destined to sleep for eternity.

Despite all this, she woke up. However, it wasn't in the familiar, confined space of her bedroom. Instead, she lay on soft, green grass, in an open field. She jolted up quickly, and slowly looked up. The plain, blank ceiling of her bedroom was filled, or rather, overflowed with beautiful blue skies. She stood up, and saw a seemingly endless horizon, dotted with snow topped mountains. She pinched herself to check she wasn't dreaming. However, she felt the recognizable pain.

"This can't be… a dream. Can it?" she wondered. Suddenly excited, she looked down at herself, expecting to see a fleshy lump of fat where her stomach was. But there wasn't. Shocked, she felt her tummy to check it wasn't a trick of the eye. She only felt a smooth flat surface. She glanced at the rest of her attire. She was wearing a short, floaty, silky dress, which was only very slightly blue, and almost white, with short, drape like sleeves. Her skin was slightly paler, an almost olive complexion, and her hair a very dark brown, like coffee without milk, rather than a jet black. Twiddling her toes, she noticed she wore silver shoes on her feet.

"I'm… free!" she rejoiced, twirling around the spot.

"You are awake!" a male voice echoed, in somewhat relief. Puzzled, Emma turned around to greet the man. He was a young man around her height, with long, dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He wore a dark blue outfit, with a gold belt tied loosely around his waist. Around his neck, he wore a necklace, with a small blue shard attached. A scar ran down the side of his cheek.

Emma instantly recognized the man. The necklace he wore, his Dvapara-Yuga, Emma thought, and his look. He was a character from her game she played, the one she grew up with all her life. She realized that this is her destiny. Her… broken destiny.

"Kilik?" she smiled. She knew that he wouldn't recognize her, and by saying his name, he would understand that she wasn't from his time.

"How do you… know my name?" he inquired, "are you from another world?"

She grinned. Her plan was working. "Yes, I am from another world, another dimension, and possibly another time."

His face was wiped blank. He glanced up and down at her dress. She certainly had that, unworldly aura about her… he thought. He gazed into her eyes, and had a stroke of an idea.

"Are you… an angel?"

Emma was stunned. She didn't expect him to call her an angel. Nobody had ever called her an angel before. Was that a compliment? Or was it an insult? She looked at herself. Her left hand was very faintly glowing, three black stars emblazoned just above her thumb. Should I pretend I'm an angel… and become another person? She thought. She suddenly realized that this is what she had wished for. To become a beautiful, strong girl who was free. Her wish was... fulfilled. Softly smiling, she replied, "I wouldn't consider myself an… angel as such. I suppose I am… special." She sighed at her ridiculous logic. 'Special'.

"You flew down from the sky, over the horizon. You look… angelic." Kilik hesitated, but then smiled warmly. "I would call you an angel." Her heart fluttered. She had never felt a feeling like this before. She gradually felt warmth on her cheeks, and almost immediately she stroked her face with her hand. Was she… blushing?

"Thank you, Kilik. I've never been complimented like this before." Emma whispered truthfully. Kilik still smiled, but his face had a stunned look.

"I'm quite surprised you haven't." He said, whilst still gazing at her eyes. She mumbled absent-mindedly, and put her other hand across her chest. She was certainly pleased; he was handsome, in her eyes. However, someone else was on her mind, who may have a broken heart if she saw this.

"Where is Xianghua?" she asked him politely. Kilik was still in a daze.

"Wha… Oh, Xianghua." His expression was wiped blank again, only this time not in shock. "She is up in the temple." He almost dismissively said. "Oh, which reminds me, you must meet my master."

"The Edge Master?" Emma chuckled slightly. "His beard brings back memories." She remembered the game cover of the first Soul Calibur. The faces of Kilik, the Edge Master and Maxi were combined, with a happy, chirpy Xianghua leaning forward below them. However, Kilik took that the wrong way.

"You have met my master before?" Kilik was slightly taken back, but he wasn't surprised. He knew his master was wise, and would have probably met angels before. Emma wondered if she should pretend to have met the Edge Master. Then again, the Edge Master would tell Kilik one way or another, so Emma told the truth.

"No, I have heard of him." Emma replied, "I have watched over you, in a way, I know who you are."

"Really..? You have been watching over us?" Kilik's face lit up. "You truly are an angel aren't you?" Abashed, Emma chuckled.

"I suppose I am." She replied, glancing up at the temple, wedged into the side of the mountain. "We should meet them."

Happily agreeing, Kilik took her hand and led her up the endless staircase towards the temple. Her old self would usually feel exhausted, but she didn't feel a thing. Her new body was capable of almost everything. She thought how this may affect her in battle; she would be a challenge to defeat. She sighed, realising that she didn't have a weapon to protect herself. Kilik would protect her, she considered, since he was very loyal to her the moment he had met her. Was it loyalty… or love? Her eyes gleamed in slight worry. What would Xianghua think? She practically adores him. Emma remembered from the games that Xianghua was the long lost sister of Xianglian, who was Kilik's sworn sister, as they were both 'orphans' of the temple, and had grown up together. Kilik wanted to love Xianghua back, but she had too many similarities to Xianglian. Xianglian had risked her own life for him. When the Evil Seed spread the malfestation, Kilik's temple was affected too, and everyone started to lose their sanity and kill each other, except Xianglian. Xianglian had inherited a holy mirror, Dvapara-Yuga, which can purify anything, which she wore at the time. Realising that her Dvapara-Yuga kept her from losing sanity, she put it over Kilik so he can live, not her. Kilik was forced to kill her in self-defence due to the Evil Seed affecting her. Kilik couldn't love Xianghua, even if he tried. Emma didn't want to see Xianghua's heart broken, no matter how much Emma liked Kilik.

The pair finally reached the top of the mountain, next to the temple. Kilik was slightly breathless, however Emma was breathing quite normally.

"You aren't tired?" Kilik smiled again, still amazed by her.

"No, I'm not." Emma muttered in a surprised manner. She would have collapsed if she was her old self. Just as the two laughed, an old man, with an impressive white beard appeared from the temple, with is back very straight, and limbs quite strong. Followed by the man was a girl, who wore her hair in two short bunches at the front of her hair, whilst the rest of the wild bob was left out. She wore a pink outfit, similar to a long top. She wore long, turquoise trousers, with bright blue flats. Emma knew who she was from the first glance.

"KILIK!" the girl rejoiced, skipping happily up to him. She instantly gave him a long hug, but Kilik didn't hug back, he just patted her back quickly, gesturing her to get off. She got the picture but then turned her head towards Emma. Her face shrunk into slight disappointment.

"Who's she?" Xianghua said almost blankly. She glanced back at Kilik. Emma could tell that she was trying to avoid her eye contact, as she was trying to focus completely on Kilik. Jealously, Emma thought.

"She is a girl who fell from the sky, beyond the horizon. She is an angel who has been watching over us all this time." Kilik warmly introduced. Xianghua's eyes glowed brightly for a second, but then shadowed with suspicion.

"Hello Xianghua, it's nice to meet you." Emma smiled, hiding her minor annoyance that she didn't bother to greet her nicely. She doesn't even know me, Emma thought.

Xianghua's eyes widened in shock, but before she had time to speak, Emma turned to the Edge Master.

"Hello there, Edge Master. I have heard widely of your teachings." Emma gestured, offering her glowing hand for him to shake. The two shook hands, whilst Kilik stared at Emma affectionately, and Xianghua stared at her with envy.

"It is a pleasure to be in the presence of a beautiful spirit like you." Edge Master nodded, looking at Kilik for a moment, and then motioned him to lead Emma inside the temple. Kilik took her hand and whispered softly in her ear.

"The Edge Master is never wrong." Kilik chuckled. From behind her, Emma felt another type of warmth, almost like fire, burning behind her. She knew that Xianghua was watching still, using her eyes to almost burn through Emma. The envy still burns, Emma thought to herself. She silently giggled at her pun, although Kilik was quite confused about why she was laughing.

"You will know in good time, Kilik." Emma reassured.

The four walked through the silent corridors to strange door that almost looked like a gate, which the Edge Master opened with a simple nudge. The room was fairly small, as there were two fairly large statues of dragons guarding a stone staircase. The room was embroidered with gold and brown, and the floors patterned with mahogany coloured wood. The Edge Master led Kilik, Emma and Xianghua up the stone staircase to another floor. The room had bronze bars which closed off a large balcony area straight ahead of them, and patterns and carvings on the rest of the walls. Directly behind them was a vast bronze statue of another dragon, which they couldn't see before.

"The Hall of the Warrior God." Emma broke the silence. The other three swivelled their heads towards her in disbelief.

"You know so much about us." Xianghua said, quite nicely. Emma nodded.

"I only watch over you in very important times, not every single minute." Emma confirmed, just to make sure they didn't test her. She quite liked being called an 'angel'. "I have to watch over other warriors too, some of whom you may encounter in the future." Emma couldn't forget about the other characters who she played as, especially before Soul Calibur, the first true 'Soul' game, Soul Blade, or Soul Edge in Japan. Kilik, Xianghua and the Edge Master only appeared in the second game, Soul Calibur. Emma had to encourage them to find Soul Edge, before they don't go down in history.

"This is where we train ourselves." Kilik stated calmly. Edge Master nodded in agreement. "Would you mind if you trained with me?" Kilik asked Emma shyly, but Emma didn't have any weapons. She had to make this sound 'angelic'.

"We don't use weapons freely where I come from, it's frowned upon." Emma rejected courteously, which was the truth. They only use weapons in war. "If you had a weapon spare, then I would be glad to have a go." She hinted at them lightly. Edge Master nodded again. He turned to Xianghua and asked her to get the 'Northern Star'. One of her old, unused weapons, Emma thought, I'll make good use of it. The Edge Master looked at Kilik and Emma and smiled.

"It will take her a long while to find that sword. I've hidden it somewhere secret." Edge Master smirked. "I'll leave you two alone." He hobbled down the staircase after Xianghua, and Emma was left unsure as to whether it was intentional that he had hidden the sword, so Kilik could spend time with her more, or as a joke? Nevertheless, Kilik and Emma were alone, and she liked it. Her cheeks started to get warm again. Emma tried to break the silence.

"It's a bit quiet here." Emma slapped herself in her head. That was awkward, she thought.

"I like it." Kilik smiled. He stepped closer to her and held her hands. "Don't tell Xianghua I told you this, but… I …"

"Yes?" Emma whispered. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, or rather, do.

"When I found you, I felt that my prayers… have been answered, in a way."

"What…do you mean?"

"I… have been waiting for this moment, I suppose."

"What about Xianghua?" Emma calmly protested, despite this comeback being for the words 'I love you' rather than what he had said, "What if Xianghua heard this. Her heart would be destroyed." Kilik's eyes sank. He knew that Xianghua loved him.

"I know, but I couldn't look at her in that way." Kilik sighed, "She looks too much like-"

"Xianglian." Emma finished his sentence. "Someone needs to tell you the truth, Kilik, and it looks like I have to."

"What truth?" Kilik looked somewhat afraid of what she is going to say.

"Xianghua is Xianglian's long lost sister." Emma simply told him. "Xianglian's father was exiled from the temple because he stole the sacred sword from the temple and fell in love with a woman. The woman gave birth to your sworn sister, and was left at the temple and raised as an orphan, just like you, Kilik. The mother was also holding the unborn Xianghua too, and raised her without a father. Don't you see Kilik?"

Kilik was gob smacked. To Emma, it was perfectly obvious that they are related one way or another. They looked alike, they had very similar names. Apparently Kilik didn't make that link at all.

"I always thought that they just looked very similar, I didn't think they could possibly be related." Kilik pondered in shock, "Even so, this means I cannot love her even more, for two reasons, one, she Xianglian's sister, secondly, I had to kill her, in self defence…" Kilik's eyes became watery.

"I understand it wasn't your fault Kilik." Emma reassured. "Xianghua doesn't know she had a live father, let alone a… deceased sister." A tear rolled down his cheek. Emma caught it with her finger, and brushed it away. She stroked his hair for a second, then wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him. Kilik accepted it and hugged tightly back, unlike Xianghua's fierce hugs. They didn't want to end the moment.

"I'm so sorry Kilik." Emma murmured. She felt another tear drop on her shoulder. She lightly kissed him on the neck in reassurance. She felt him smile.

"It's ok. It's not your fault." Kilik whispered gently, "I-"

A scrambling of footsteps was heard from the end of the corridor. They swiftly and reluctantly broke the embrace. They both knew Xianghua was in a hurry to make sure that Kilik wasn't alone with Emma for too long. She is probably angry at the Edge Master for leaving us alone, Emma thought. To confirm this prediction, a red faced Xianghua appeared with the sword, followed by a pleased Edge Master. The two couldn't help but noticed that Xianghua had changed. Her pink and turquoise outfit was replaced with a quite revealing white and dark blue outfit, with a short top, cardigan and very tight shorts, which revealed most of her upper leg. To make this look 'cute' she wore long, white socks with blue bows tied around them, and black flat shoes. Emma predicted that Xianghua wanted the attention on herself again, and that she wanted to impress Kilik. However, from the expression on his face, Kilik looked more disgusted than attracted.

Xianghua grudgingly handed over Northern Star. It was a plain sword with a light blue hilt. Emma grasped both hands over the sword to feel its weight, but unexpectedly the sword grew slightly longer, and the hilt changed colour, into silver, which looked almost liquid, like mercury. A five pointed star was emblazoned onto the hilt, and writing started to appear on the blade. The fancy writing read 'The Legend Never Dies.' Xianghua frowned slightly. She didn't expect her rusty old sword to turn into a beautiful one. Emma gently tossed it from palm to palm. It was really light. It was then Emma realised she had some sort of power.

"Wow." Emma whispered to herself. Kilik and Xianghua stared in awe at the spectacle they have just seen. The Edge Master just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Shall we battle?" Emma grinned. Kilik chuckled out of astonishment.

"Certainly." He said, as he moved to his starting position, as Emma was already standing in hers. He picked up a shiny, red rod, with gold work at each end. It's Kali-Yuga, Emma thought.

Edge Master did the honours of being an announcer. Emma sighed happily. It's what she had been learning all her life. Her first battle.

"I'll try not to kill you." Emma joked, "Don't go easy on me!"

Kilik laughed. "I promise I will win this."

Edge Master bellowed. "Fight!"

Kilik bundled forward with his rod in hand, as did Emma with her new sword. Kilik made the first move and swung his rod around, where her face would have been, but Emma dodged gracefully, and spun into a crouching kick, which made Kilik flip sideward. Kilik tried to spin his rod again, this time from the floor, but instead Emma leaped upwards and landed softly behind him. Kilik got up just as Emma swiped her sword, causing him to cut himself. Emma was slightly shocked that she had hurt him, she'd never hurt someone before. Kilik smiled and used the moment to strike back, but Emma maintained her guard and parried his attacks with elegance. She flipped backwards to avoid his horizontal attack, leaped forward and cartwheel kicked him three times. She is really fast, Kilik thought. He tried to attack her again but lost his guard. Emma was very close to him, her lips almost touching his, but then she grabbed his neck with one hand and pushed him onto the floor. Emma laughed as she slashed his rod away with her sword. She fell onto her knees and grabbed his hand to stop him reaching Kali-Yuga. She ended up leaning forward towards Kilik. He got up slowly, but stopped for a moment. He looked at her intently. Emma noticed the wound she had given him.

"I'm so sorry Kilik!" Emma exclaimed, slightly touching his cut.

"Why are you sorry for? You've won!" Kilik smirked.  
>"I've hurt you badly though…"<p>

"It's fine. I'm used to it." Kilik shrugged. "It's a part of my training."

Emma rose up, and gave him her hand to help him up. Kilik slowly grabbed her hand, and dragged her back down onto the floor, but rather than next to him as he intended, she ended up falling on top of him.

"Kilik." Emma cautioned almost jokingly. She slightly nodded to her right, where Xianghua and the Edge Master were still watching.

"Oh, right." Kilik sighed. Emma leapt up and dragged a drained Kilik up from the floor.

The pair laughed in unison as Xianghua glared at them. Xianghua couldn't help but notice the pair was holding hands naturally. She looked away in mild sorrow.

"Your moves are powerful, quick and gracefully performed. I'm impressed." The Edge Master mentioned wisely. "For the first time handling a sword, it is almost like you performed a miracle."

"She has made many miracles since she came here." Kilik added, facing Emma again. "Like slicing me up! I barely could defend your attacks!"

Emma practically cracked up, and playfully prodded him with her sword.

"I wasn't that good. Was I?" Emma wondered. She was fighting like she has been training for years. She started to wonder what was going on herself. She started to forget everything from her previous life, except anything to do with the Soul Calibur dimension. Maybe she was born into this world, or she died in her previous one.

"I have nowhere to stay." Emma forgot that she woke up on a field. She wasn't raised in this dimension.

"Perhaps I can make arrangements." The Edge Master assisted her. "There is a room in the temple which I think you can settle yourself into nicely."

Emma was quite excited. "Really?"

"It is absolutely stunning. Kilik shall show you." The Edge Master turned towards Kilik, "you'll know which one." The Edge Master gave him a very quick wink.

Xianghua looked confused, and quite annoyed.

"Now, Xianghua, I must have a word with you." Edge Master muttered. He led Xianghua down the stairs and out of the temple, into the moonlight. Emma didn't realise how late it had gotten.

Hand in hand, Kilik and Emma silently waltzed down the corridor. Kilik led her up and down many stairs and through endless corridors until they got to a room with a bigger door than the rest. On the door were two metal dragons wrapped around a sun. Emma hesitated, but reached for the doorknob. She twisted it, and the dragons unwrapped themselves away from the sun and the sun split in two. Emma slowly pushed the door open. The room was like a small haven. There was a flowing waterfall on the one wall; opposite this was a large, king size bed, with a bamboo frame, and comfortable looking bedspreads, pillows and mattress, all coloured sea blue. The room had flowers and trees scattered randomly, the walls were painted like a sunset, and there was a balcony with a beautiful view of the mountains.

"It's absolutely beautiful, Kilik." Emma whispered happily. She felt something wet fall onto her cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Kilik noticed the tear. He caught it with his finger, and wiped it away, like she did to him before. Emma forgot about his cut.

"I need to heal your cut, otherwise it could get infected." Emma warned worryingly. "Sit on the bed, Kilik." Emma propped her sword against the wall and quickly glanced around the room. She found a piece of silk lying on the balcony. That'll do, she thought. Emma grabbed the cloth and held it under the waterfall. She went over to Kilik, and sat next to him.

"This might sting a bit." Emma told him, dabbing the sodden silk onto his cut. Kilik winced. "Sorry."

"Why do you apologize?" Kilik asked her suddenly.

Emma hesitated slightly. "I don't want people to think I'm doing wrong on purpose." Emma dabbed at his face again. "It's a habit."

"There's no need to. You are far from sinful." Kilik smiled warmly again. "You are an angel watching over us."

Emma smiled again. "Why do you compliment me?" Kilik was quite offended.

"You are a beautiful girl, who fell from the sky when we need you, and who is amazing and is a powerful swordswoman. Why wouldn't I compliment you?" Kilik sighed.

"I-" Emma tried to protest, but she was silenced when Kilik started to lean into her. Xianghua wasn't watching…

Kilik's lips met hers softly. Emma was quite stunned. She had never kissed anyone in her life, let alone someone kissing her. "I love you." He whispered in her ear. To his surprise, Emma whispered back.

"I loved you the moment I watched over you." She whispered as the pair embraced.

Meanwhile, outside the temple, Xianghua and the Edge Master walked in the courtyard. The moon was high in the starless sky.

"Why do you envy the young angel?" the Edge Master inquired in his mysterious tone. Xianghua looked horrified.

"Wha… What?" Xianghua stuttered nervously, "Why would I be jealous of her?" Xianghua slowly started to face away from him, towards the light of the moon. She exhaled heavily. "I'm not jealous; it's just that she's everything I wanted to be. She has everything I ever wanted."

"If I stand correct, that is jealousy, lotus flower." Edge Master chuckled. "What others may have, should not be compared to your own."

"She has his heart." Xianghua's eyes started to water. Edge Master breathed deeply.

"Kilik has seen things beyond comprehension that he couldn't stop, no matter what she did. Kilik simply cannot love you the way you do."

"Why not? Why can't Kilik love me?"

"It is something that is best kept secret." Edge Master warned, "You mustn't mention anything about his past to him, understand?"

"Yes, master."

"Good. Now lotus flower, get some sleep, tomorrow will hold great things for all of you."

Emma wanted to stay in Kilik's arms forever. She knew that she would wake up in her own world, and this would just be a dream, no matter how realistic it was. Sighing, she closed her eyes, and braced herself. She still wondered why she had this 'dream'. It seemed too real to be true, every scent, every movement, every feeling. It can't be a normal dream, surely. Or maybe this was real. Maybe, her previous life was non-existent. She can't clearly remember her life before she got here. Perhaps she died and was reborn as an angel here. Maybe this was her heaven. Still circulating her many ideas on how she got there in the first place, she fell asleep.

_A/N: Like it? Reviews would be lovely! And yeah, I have a crush on Kilik. And if you are truly a Soul Calibur fan, you will notice that the chapter titles throughout the story is cleverly tied with the plot and characters. All of them are named after songs from the Soul Calibur soundtracks (which I do not own...)_


	2. Tempered Soul

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Hi! As you noticed, I imagine myself as an angel with magical powers. Really gonna happen Emma -.- ANYWAYS. If you did survive throwing up in the previous chapter, I salute you! This chapter is slightly cheesy too. Argh, and nudity! (it isn't graphic, don't panic!)_

Chapter 2: Tempered Soul

Emma woke up. It was the morning, but she heard the familiar sound of flowing water. I'm still here, she thought, Maybe this is my new life. She opened her eyes slowly just to make sure. She was still in the same room, but instead amber sunlight poured through the balcony porch way. She rose up leisurely, and gazed around the room. This was her life. Her wish came true.

Emma started to get out of bed, but noticed a note on her pillow. "Kilik I presume." Emma smiled to herself. The note was neatly written in black ink. It read: "Out training. Breakfast is waiting on the balcony. Don't want X to be suspicious. K."

Kilik was clever, she thought as she got up from her bed and went over towards the balcony. On a small table was a plate of small dumplings, with another note on top of them. Emma yawned quietly and read the note. "I didn't have time to make anything new, so I quickly prepared the dumplings I made yesterday. Sorry. K." Emma smiled and ate the dumplings quietly. She was quite hungry, especially from yesterday, so she was happy to eat anything. These are delicious, Emma thought, chewing on her second dumpling. It was vegetable dumplings, stuffed with carrots and Chinese cabbage, with a drop of soy sauce. They didn't mention this in the game, Emma giggled as she finished off her last of her six bite-size dumplings. Emma quickly washed her hands under the waterfall and was ready to set off, but she wondered if her powers still worked. She then realised she was still wearing the dress from yesterday.

"I need a new dress for the day." Emma muttered, and the dress started to transform into a silvery white dress, with short, floaty sleeves and white sandals that stopped at her ankles. She beamed. She knew that her powers were very useful. Grabbing her sword, she twisted the doorknob and left her small piece of paradise.

Outside the temple, Xianghua and Kilik were training together. Xianghua noticed that Kilik was happier than usual, and grew suspicious. No matter what the Edge Master told her not to do, she still couldn't let go of her envy. She tried to hold back the tears. Caught off guard, Kilik knocked her to the floor.

"You are getting weaker Xianghua." Kilik laughed to himself. He knew she was competing with Emma. "I know what you are trying to do, or rather, who you are trying to be..."

"I must train myself to be stronger." Xianghua snarled, slashing back at him whilst gritting her teeth. "That's how you become a better warrior. That's what you told me."

"True." Kilik grinned. Xianghua knew that he was hiding something, so she decided to test him.

"What happened last night, after training yesterday?" Xianghua inquired innocently, trying to mask her suspicion with a fake smile. Kilik knew she was asking about Emma.

"Oh, I took her to the room, and then went to sleep." Kilik simply stated.

"In your own room?" Xianghua glared at him, as he had an aghast look on his face.

"Of course! How could you even think that-?"

Emma arrived just in time, before the conversation got any worse. She decided to play innocent rather than appalled.

"Kilik is such a gentleman; I don't think I can even imagine him in that way." Emma was hooting with laughter in her head, as Xianghua's face grew more and more red.

"I… um…" Xianghua was stumbling over the words. Emma crept closer to her and whispered, but just as loud enough so he could hear, "It's ok. I understand why you are so attached to him."

"You… do?" Xianghua mumbled in shock.

"I watch over you, remember. I know how you feel."

"No you don't! You don't know anything about me! You don't know how I feel!" Xianghua suddenly yelled. "You aren't even a _real angel!_"

"Xianghua!" Kilik sternly warned.

"No, Kilik. I understand." Emma sighed, seemingly defeated. "She doesn't want me here."

"That's right! I don't want you here! You appear out of the sky for no reason, become an expert swordfighter just by picking a sword up, and make Kilik fall for you?"

"Xianghua, it's not like that-" Kilik tried to interrupt.

"You don't even have a name!" Xianghua continued to scream at her, "Why would I want you here?"

Emma's eyes started to water. "Kilik can't love you."

"Why does everyone say that? Why can't he love me? Why not?" Xianghua screeched, stepping very close to her.

"He killed your sister!" Emma screamed at the top of her voice. Xianghua was silenced in disbelief. Kilik lowered his head. "He was forced to kill your long lost sister." Emma continued in a whisper. There was a silence for a moment.

"Why didn't my mother tell me?" Xianghua murmured with tears in her eyes. "How can I believe you?" Xianghua began to shout again, "Because you are an 'angel'? It that why I should believe you?"

"You mother had lied to you your entire life, Xianghua." Emma calmly retorted back at her. "Your father is still alive, and you had a sister who lived and grew up with Kilik in his temple. Due to the Evil Seed, Kilik had to kill her in self defence because she was affected by the malfestation. Ok?"

Xianghua couldn't speak. She faced Kilik and leered at him.

"So why didn't you tell me, Kilik?" she steadily asked him, much more politely than she had asked Emma.

"I didn't know you two were related until she told me before." Kilik responded truthfully.

"But how can you trust her Kilik?" Xianghua shouted back.

"Just because you can't trust her doesn't mean I won't!" Kilik yelled at her.

"Look." Emma inhaled. "I seem to be causing a lot of trouble here. I'll find some other warriors..." Emma started to walk near the staircase but Kilik stopped her. He held her hands again.  
>"Please, please don't leave me." Kilik pleaded. He looked into her eyes again. He didn't seem to care about Xianghua's feelings anymore. He grabbed Emma's face and kissed it. Xianghua on the other hand, was on the verge of tears. She clutched her sword tightly.<p>

"I won't. I promise." Emma whispered. Turning around, she was about to continue, but was interrupted by Xianghua running straight for her. The last thing Emma saw was vengeance burning in her eyes.

"NO!" Kilik was horror-struck. In his arms was Emma, but she was very pale and limp. She had a large, red stain on her dress. Kilik looked up to see a blood-thirsty Xianghua, holding her sword, which was dripping with blood.

"You killed her?" Kilik screamed at her, "why did you kill her?"

"If she really is an angel, she would come back to life anyway." Xianghua spat, "She knows I love you, but she kisses you in front of me anyway-"

"I kissed her!" Kilik made Xianghua silent. "What can't you get into your head? I could never love you!"

Xianghua started to splutter. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I couldn't care less about her." She managed to cough as she ran away.

Kilik muttered. "Well I do. I could never forgive you for this."

Kilik carried Emma back into the temple and called for the Edge Master. A slightly concerned Edge Master hobbled into the room and as soon as she saw Emma he ran as fast as he could to find some medicine. Kilik lay Emma down on what seemed to be an oriental 'chaise longues', and knelt down beside her. He held her hand for a second, and then leaned into her face. He very lightly stroked her lips with his own. He curled one hand over her head and moved her hair, then slid his hand down her neck, and onto her shoulders. He hesitated, and then slowly touched her cheek instead. He quickly moved his hand and held hers when he heard the Edge Master's footsteps.

"Quickly, master, she is pale." Kilik motioned him to hurry up. The Edge Master had brought some medicine, with a large bandage. Kilik felt the blood patch. It was seeping from the stomach.

"The wound is where her stomach is." Kilik muttered to the Edge Master. "I need to, you know."

The Edge Master got the picture. He quickly left to find a 'cloth to soak up the blood', leaving Kilik alone with the dying angel. Kilik sighed and started to lift her dress off. The blood is everywhere, Kilik thought. He started to take off her dress so he could wrap the bandage. She lay there, with nothing to cover her, her stomach stained in blood. He started to wrap the bandage slowly around her waist, and continued until the bandage covered the wound. The Edge Master wasn't there to watch, Kilik thought. He stared at the beautiful, lifeless body. Maybe Xianghua was right, Kilik thought, maybe she isn't an angel. Then he thought again, how could she perform all those miracles right before our eyes? Kilik took off his top and wrapped it around her body, to cover her. She is probably cold, Kilik thought. He lifted her onto his lap. The Edge Master returned, only to see a topless Kilik, with a half nude angel on his lap, wrapped in his top. The Edge Master noticed the blood stained dress on the floor.

"I thought you only needed to lift the dress to wrap the bandage, not remove it completely." Edge Master scolded.

"I'm sorry master, the blood was seeping everywhere. It was difficult to wrap the bandage." Kilik apologized sincerely.

"I would like you to take her to her room please, without any trouble." Edge Master ordered calmly.

"Yes, master." Kilik muttered as he lifted Emma up, cradling her in his arms, carrying the medicine in one hand.

As Kilik was carrying her through the corridor, a voice stirred.

"Kilik..?" Emma mumbled. Kilik sighed in relief. "Wha… what happened?" Emma assessed the situation. All she remembered was Xianghua staring at her, her eyes smoking with hatred, blood running cold through her veins. Now, she was being carried by Kilik, bridal style, down the temple corridors. She felt a rough substance on her stomach. Kilik saved me, Emma thought. Then she realised he was topless, and she was wrapped in his top, and she was…

"Kilik… you… saw me… like this?" Emma feebly moaned.

"I had no choice, there was too much blood." Kilik grew slightly pink. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you… apologize?" Emma smiled weakly. "You… didn't do wrong."

"I removed your clothes without your permission."

"I was… on the verge of death. You… saved me." Emma closed her eyes in happiness.

"But, you are unhappy with me." Kilik frowned slightly.

"Why would I… be unhappy… with you?" Emma said happily. Kilik smiled again.

They reached her bedroom again, and Kilik nudged the door. He placed her on her bed carefully, and propped her head up with a pillow. He gave her the medicine to drink.

"You will be ok, I promise." Kilik whispered.

"Kilik… I think I am." Emma smiled. "Unwrap the bandage."

Kilik hesitated, but he unwrapped the bandage cautiously, and gasped. The wound was completely gone, no scar, no blood, nothing. All that was left was a shiny, oily substance where the wound would have been.

"You healed yourself." Kilik stuttered in amazement.

"If you didn't help me, I probably would have died." Emma touched his hand. "Thank you for saving me Kilik."

She rose up steadily, and leaned into him. She started to kiss on him, but forgot she was exposed, so she withdrew herself, hugging her knees.

"Kilik… I…" She began to look up. Kilik was leaning forward so his face was right in front of hers.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked, realising that it might be uncomfortable for her.

"No." She said plainly, "It's just… you don't even know my name."

"Emma." Kilik immediately whispered. Emma was quite shocked; she wasn't the only one to perform miracles.

"I need to tell _you_ the truth now." Kilik began with a weary smile. "I've always had dreams about a girl, who I can kiss without hesitation, who didn't mind me looking at her, who loved me back. I always knew that one day that girl would come for me. And when I found you yesterday, I realised. You are that girl, you looked exactly like her, had the same voice, same personality. You had the same name." Kilik held her hand. "I thought that the heavens sent you here as an angel."

"I've had dreams about you too." Emma admittedly mumbled, "When I first watched over you, I knew, that someday I would come to your world, and fight alongside you, train with you. I wanted to be the one you loved."

Emma's face dropped for a moment, "Then I thought of Xianghua, and what could possibly happen if she found out we were like this." As soon as Kilik heard her name, his eyes started to burn.

"She almost killed you! That's how much she hates you! I could never forgive her for even thinking about murdering you!" Kilik instantly gave Emma a long, tight hug. "I don't want to lose you."

There was a sudden knock at the dragon emblazoned door, and Kilik and Emma panicked. Emma quickly passed Kilik his top which was on the pillow behind her, and whispered really quickly, "I need new clothes to cover my exposed body." Emma muttered in slight embarrassment. The wind blew on her skin, which made goose bumps appear as well as new clothes.

The Edge Master waddled in, observing the two. Kilik was standing near to the waterfall, with his top on, whilst Emma lay on the bed with a rose pink and dark green dress with long laced stockings, patterned with ivy. The Edge Master raised an eyebrow and held up a sword.

"This belongs to you, I believe." Edge Master smiled to Emma, and Emma returned another smile.

"Thank you very much, Edge Master." Emma thanked respectfully, as he passed the sword to her. Her 'Northern Star' still remained the same.

"Now, are you feeling better, young one?"

"Yes, I am fully recovered, many thanks to Kilik." Emma turned to Kilik, and giggled to herself.

"She healed herself really; I tried to speed up the process." Kilik replied to the Edge Master, with modesty.

"When both are you are ready, we will prepare for lunch." Edge Master nodded as he left the room.

Kilik and Emma sighed simultaneously. "That was close." They both laughed in unison. Then Kilik looked at Emma's choice of clothing and raised an eyebrow.

"What? I panicked." Emma mumbled. "I need a more suitable dress which pleases my lover yet doesn't make Edge Master suspicious." The wind blew hard on her dress as it transformed into a red, orange and black dress, which covered her shoulders and neck, but was short above the knees and was skin tight. Kilik's eyes widened.

"Perfect." Kilik chuckled in satisfaction, as Emma got up from the bed and hugged him.

"Now, we mustn't keep the master waiting." Emma playfully nudged Kilik and made a run for the door, holding Kilik's hand, and never letting go.

_A/N: Ahh, didn't you find that cute? (in a weird way...) Anyhoo, the next chapter is where the suspense hits maximum! Read on! (oh... and review if you like...)_


	3. Spark of Fate

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Argh! Suspense and tension overload! I almost die in the last chapter! but who will be next... *stares at you* Joke. Or as Xianghua may say: 'Just kidding!'_

Chapter 3: Spark of Fate

After many laughs at lunch time with the Edge Master, Kilik and Emma wandered around the temple grounds. They talked about each other, and training, and Kilik even taught Emma some new moves, and they continued to train until nightfall. They finally took a break and wondered out into the field where they first met, and sat themselves down on the grass, gazing into the distance as the stars began to emerge from the horizon.

"Kilik."

"Yes?"

"You have to come with me."

"What do you mean?" Kilik was quite confused.

"The Evil Seed was created when a knight was possessed by a living sword called Soul Edge," Emma began, "Another sword needs to be created to balance each other, and so there isn't any malfestation. It is called Soul Calibur, and you and Xianghua are destined to create it. Xianghua's sword, the one her father stole from the temple, is the sacred sword needed to make Soul Calibur. Krita-Yuga."

"So are you asking me to take Xianghua's sword…?" Kilik didn't understand.

"I need you and Xianghua to bear each other until Soul Calibur is made. You need to travel with her and defeat Soul Edge, and only then will Soul Calibur be transformed." Kilik looked quite sick. He obviously hated her now. "Please, Kilik, it will stop others from suffering like you did." Emma held his hand this time and looked into his eyes. Kilik thought for a while and sighed.

"Fine. Only if you promise to come too."

"Thank you, Kilik." Emma hugged him and turned towards the temple. There was a small dot of light and something dark waving. "I think the Edge Master needs us."

Kilik also turned around and nodded. He slowly got up as the dot of light went inside, and held out his hand, waiting for Emma to get up. Emma took his hand, but dragged him back down, on top of her. They both laughed.

"What? It's payback for yesterday!" Emma laughed, leaning her head back and looked up at the sky. Sighing, she got up with him and walked towards the temple, with their arms wrapped around each others waists.

Emma and Kilik helped the Edge Master set out the table for dinner and they all started to eat. However, Xianghua was missing. She didn't eat lunch with them either.

"Where is Xianghua?" Emma muttered, putting down her bowl of food and getting up. Kilik and the Edge Master looked at her, quite worried as she stared straight in front of her, eyes transfixed, as if she was listening to something. She finally realised what she was doing and quickly apologized.

"Excuse me, but I need to find Xianghua. I haven't seen her since-"

"She almost killed you." Kilik grumbled in concealed fury.

"Right, but I have a feeling I may not be the only one." Emma mumbled to herself, grabbing her sword which was propped up on the wall next to her. "Excuse me, Edge Master, but I must check on Xianghua." The Edge Master nodded at her, excusing her to leave. Kilik leaned over the table to the Edge Master.

"Can I be excused too? I have to look after her, just in case…" Kilik pleaded quietly.

Edge Master nodded and Kilik rapidly grabbed his Kali-Yuga and followed Emma.

The silver moon was shrouded by a fluffy grey cloud, the sky seemingly starless due to the clouds that covered them. Kilik and Emma ran out of the temple and to the nearby village. They both didn't see Xianghua around the temple so it had to be an option. The village was crowded with dark looking figures. It could be anyone of them, Emma thought, as she went into a nearby inn, followed closely by Kilik. They entered, to find the small inn almost empty, with just an innkeeper at a desk. Emma paced towards the innkeeper. He looked old, with a white, wispy goatee, and slight wrinkles.

"Did a young woman wearing white and blue check in today?" Emma questioned. The old man looked up wearily.

"There were quite a few women wearing white and blue, and white or blue, that checked in today." The last thing you need is an old man like this to rely on, Emma thought in irritation.

"She has short dark hair, and wears them in bunches at the front."

The old man nodded. "Yes she did check in, just about half an hour back actually…"

"Which room?" Emma firmly interrupted.

"Room… 9." The old man muttered nervously as he lowered his head again, back to his work. No time to waste old man, Emma thought as she signalled Kilik to come with her, running up the creaky wooden stairs to the left of the innkeeper. Emma and Kilik separated down the corridor until Emma found the right room. Kilik swiftly ran to her side.

"This is Room 9 alright." Kilik whispered in slight revolt. The door of the room itself had cobwebs hanging from it, and the number on the door was bent. The handle had a handwritten note on it. 'Do Not Disturb!' it read. Emma reached for the handle, but Kilik's hand stopped her, and he turned it instead. He swung the door open, and they both gasped in horror.

Lying on the floor was Xianghua, surrounded by a pool of blood, her eyes staring straight at the ceiling. Her sword lay beside her, her fingertips touching the hilt, covered in drops of blood. Her bed sheets were crumpled, and the window was slightly open. Emma ran up to Xianghua whilst Kilik investigated the rest of the room. Emma's eyes started to brim with tears, and gulped as she felt her wrist.

"She's gone." Emma could only mutter. She noticed her sword, which was very close to her. "Someone killed her. She tried to defend herself." She looked at Kilik but then towards the sword.

"She could have killed herself." Kilik murmured lowly, looking at his Kali-Yuga. He was right, Emma thought. She almost killed her, so why not herself? Emma sighed. She knew how much trauma she must have gone through. Xianghua must have seen them in the field that night. Emma felt guilt hit her in the face. What has she done? Now Soul Calibur can never be created, and there would be chaos. The future itself is beginning to close up.

"How are we going to create Soul Calibur?" Emma wondered aloud. Kilik helped her up and hugged her. "We will figure out a way." He said as he hugged her tighter.

Picking up their weapons, and the bloodstained Krita-Yuga, Kilik and Emma left the inn quickly, unable to help Xianghua in any way.

They arrived back at the temple, their heads hung low with mourn. Edge Master's eyes widened as Emma held up Xianghua's sword and muttered, "She killed herself." Edge Master gestured for them to sit down, after they had put down the weapons.

"We found her sword almost in her hands. There wasn't a certain sign of anyone else in the room other than her." Emma began.

"So why did you bring back the sword, bloodstains and all, and not Xianghua herself?" Edge Master questioned in slight suspicion.

Kilik interrupted. "We couldn't bring her back, and there was nothing we could do. We have to let the local townspeople deal with her death." He said rather coldly.

"We had to bring back the sword because it is sacred and it holds the future for your world." Emma added, leaving the Edge Master curious rather than suspicious of them.

"And how would a plain sword of a young girl hold the future for this world?" Edge Master inquired with interest.

"The world needs a counterpart sword which can balance out the evil which Soul Edge has created. Soul Calibur." Emma weakly smiled. "Xianghua's sword will transform into Soul Calibur as soon as it is stabbed into Soul Edge. However, it was supposed to be Xianghua who creates Soul Calibur, so I am afraid that it may not work."

There was a thoughtful silence in the room, coming from the Edge Master. Kilik and Emma both looked at him. Edge Master slowly smiled and turned to face Emma again.

"Why do you not take Xianghua's place?" Edge Master grinned in a slightly odd yet wise way.

"It may not work." Emma mumbled to herself. How could she possibly rewrite history?

"I believe in you." Kilik suddenly smiled. "We can travel together, and create Soul Calibur. I know we can."

Emma beamed and hugged Kilik. "I hope we can."

Edge Master smiled at this mildly romantic moment and shooed them out of the room. Kilik walked back to their room hand in hand.

Emma yawned and curled up in her bed, whilst Kilik sat on the edge of her bed and watched her contently.

"Are you ok Emma?"

"Yes." She replied, "I'm just glad you are here with me."

The next day, Emma woke up leisurely to find that Kilik was still there with her, fast asleep, holding her hand. She tried to sneak off, however his hand tightened and he dragged her back towards her, lightly kissing her on the lips.

"Morning, my angel." Kilik slowly opened one eye and smiled warmly.

"Morning, Kilik." Emma hugged him just because he looked adorable in the morning. His hair was slightly ruffled, and his eyes barely open. She is as perfect as always, Kilik thought to himself.

Emma was the first to get up. She stretched her arms slowly then hugged her knees. She turned her head towards him.

"Hey, you sleepy sloth, we need to get up. Busy day ahead of us, remember?" Emma's smile faded into a worried look. Kilik got up himself and put his arm round her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Emma." Kilik started to reassure, "I'm up."

Emma laughed and whacked him with her pillow. "If only creating a sacred sword which could affect the world's future and possibly other dimensions' futures was as easy as getting up." She threw her pillow back, got out of bed and went over to the waterfall. She put her hands underneath it then washed her face. She ran her fingers through her hair.

"When should we leave?" Kilik yawned.

"We will leave when you are ready. I'll prepare the weapons." Emma replied, almost floating out of the room. After quickly washing up and trying to flatten his hair, Kilik set off out the door, to wear some suitable 'adventure' attire.

Kilik arrived back to the temple foyer. To his surprise, Emma sitting down. She had the weapons all ready, with Northern Star and Kali-Yuga next to her. In her hands she held a cloth and Krita-Yuga, which she was polishing due to last night's incident.

"Ready?" she smiled, putting down her cloth and standing up, with Krita-Yuga in one hand and Northern Star in the other. She noticed his change of clothing. He wore a dark blue outfit, similar to yesterday, but had orange embroidery and a different design. He still wore his Dvapara-Yuga shard around his neck. He wore gold shoulder armour, which resembled a peculiar face, on just his right arm, whilst his left arm just had a gold, solid band around his bicep. Emma almost forgot she didn't have any armour. "I need some armour to protect me in battle." She loudly mumbled to herself, and her shins, lower arms and her shoulders were covered with silver armour over her dress.

"Yes. Let's go." Kilik marched off out of the door, followed by an uncertain Emma, who slipped Krita-Yuga into the sword holder she wore on her back, Northern Star in her hand.

"Do we even know where to go?" Emma asked him with realisation that they didn't know where Soul Edge and its wielder are to track them.

"I thought you knew…" Kilik muttered to her in mild agitation.

"I'm not a navigator!" Emma whispered back at him, exasperated. She sighed with defeat. "We will have to find out where Nightmare is…"

"Who's-"

"I'll explain later. Let's find a trail first." Emma interrupted him, quite annoyed with herself. She put her fingers to her head and muttered her thoughts aloud, "What would you do in this situation, c'mon Emma, think!" Emma eyes widened and she clicked her fingers. "I've got it. Let's go to that village." Emma skipped down the staircase, followed by a tentative Kilik.

"I don't think Soul Edge would be in a small village…"

"We aren't looking for Soul Edge in the village, silly." Emma laughed just thinking of them turning the village inside out. "We are looking for a lead in the village."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Kilik kept questioning.

"You'll see, young warrior." Emma tried to put on her best Edge Master accent.

Once they arrived to the village, Emma went up to the nearest person who happened to be passing by, whilst Kilik watched from a distance. This person happened to be a middle aged woman, wearing slightly tatty, faded green clothes.

"You didn't happen to hear about the Azure Knight, did you?" Emma questioned her. The only answer she got at first was a terrified look, and started to walk away, but after asking her a few times she opened up.

"It was in Japan last time I heard." The woman shivered in fear. The poor woman, Emma thought.

"Thank you." Emma waved at her and Kilik ran up to Emma, with a concerned look on his face too.

"What did you ask her…?" Kilik started to enquire, but before she could answer, a man came out of a nearby shop and started to yell.

"Aren't those two the people who came out of that inn yesterday?" he shouted, pointing at Emma and Kilik. Another man started to shout as well:

"Yeah, she's the one with the bloody sword! She killed that girl!"

Emma cursed under her breath and began to bolt at her full speed through the village, closely followed by Kilik, and a couple of angry looking people shortly after.

"They saw us last night!" Kilik hollered at Emma, who only looked back at him with a 'now's-not-the-time' look on her face.

"I know!" she could only scream back as she pelted through the streets, dodging the occasional cart or two. The villagers all looked at the scene with utter bewilderment as the innocent pair of warriors was chased by a fierce crowd, almost like a mob. Some decided to join into the action, others hid behind their stalls in fear. Kilik and Emma were eventually surrounded by villagers with disgusted looks on their faces. Emma wondered how to deal with this unnecessary mess, whilst Kilik raised his hands in the air. Emma decided to do the same.

"We are innocent!" Kilik began to stutter, "I promise you!"

"We only needed her sword last night! She killed herself!" Emma continued mildly afraid. "We are her friends!"

"So you are thieves?" one of them pointed at them, aroused with suspicion. The villagers still looked angry. "Why did you need her sword? And walk out with it, blood dripping and all?" another one of them growled. All of them started to sneer at them in agreement.

"It's a sacred sword!" Emma ignored their last question, as she didn't have a good explanation for it. I'm so stupid, Emma thought. "This sword can stop the Azure Knight! It is the opposite of his sword, the sword of justice and calamity!"

She was running out of comebacks. Another furious villager spoke up: "How is a normal, blood-drenched sword going to become the 'sword of justice and calamity'? It sounds like you are making another one of that evil sword to me!" All of the villagers roared in unison.

"No it's not like that! We are trying to stop Soul Edge, not make another one!" Kilik wailed at them.

"It what needs to be done, to balance out the world!" Emma yelled, hoping for a little sympathy. The villagers still looked livid.

"I'm sorry young lady, but we don't take murders here lightly." A villager who seemed to lead the crowd grumbled, batting a club in his hand.

"It seems I have no choice then." Emma snarled under her breath as she drew out Krita-Yuga too. "I tried to reason with you, and we have no time to waste." The villagers started to close in onto them, then Emma nodded at Kilik, then the village erupted into a fight. Emma and Kilik both swatted at the villagers, Emma batting double the amount with both of her swords.

Meanwhile, watching from a distance, a figure watched over them, in curiosity. "That girl looks really strong. She looks like a worthy opponent to battle." It muttered to itself, watching Emma slice at each person with her swords. "And that sword… she said it would become like Soul Edge. Another legendary weapon, which can defeat any person, any weapon… I need to get that girl, and that sword of hers. No matter how much I make her suffer for it." It snickered and walked away.

_A/N: Xianghua fans: I am sooooo sorry for killing off Xianghua for my own benefit! To make it up to you, I will be suffering for it later... Can Emma and Kilik escape from the angry mob? Find out in the next chapter! (Reviews are excepted graciously...)_


	4. Dragon's Call

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Chapter 4! The moment you have been waiting for! To those of you who are obsessive Soul Caliburists like yours truly, you will instantly know who appears later on in this chapter by just looking at the title..._

Chapter 4: Dragon's Call

Kilik and Emma were starting to get worried, the attacking villagers seemed endless. They only knocked them unconscious, they didn't want to be called murderers. Emma looked at Kilik with a panicked look. A villager caught her off guard and was holding a butcher's knife to her throat. Kilik, who was just swatting away yet another villager, was going to help her when suddenly a figure jumped out of nowhere and blocked the sunlight. It landed, and got up, with a determined smile on its face.

It was a girl, who wore a short, green and pink top, with short sleeves. She wore a long matching sash around her torso, patterned with flowers and foliage. She wore ankle boots on her feet and her deep brown hair in a very long braid, with a headband around her forehead, with two tufts of hair hanging over it. She held a weapon similar to Kilik's rod, except it had a blade of a short sword attached to the top. Scarlet Thunder, Emma beamed. She recognized this girl in an instant whilst she was whacking the remainder of the villagers with the hilt of her weapon. As soon as the peculiar girl stopped, Emma rushed forward, as her face lit up with joy. It was Emma's favourite character from the series, the one she'd always used to pick when she was younger, and still did before she came to this world.

"Seung-Mina?" Emma couldn't help but to act like a bit of a fan-girl. Emma straightened her posture and tried again. "Thank you for saving us back there, we needed to help."

Seung-Mina smiled in triumph to herself. "Yes, I know, I…how in the name of my father did you know my name?" Seung-Mina gasped in shock.

"You get used to it." Kilik added, smiling to himself.

Seung-Mina started to get suspicious. "Who are you?"  
>"We are trying to create Soul Calibur." Kilik answered in a vague manner. Despite the outcome changing history, Emma decided to invite Seung-Mina on their quest.<p>

"Could you come with us?" Emma offered, "We need all the help we can get."

Knowing Seung-Mina was an adventurous type, Emma predicted that she wouldn't say no. Seung-Mina came along with them, walking through the village. Emma needed to explain the situation to her.

"So how are we going to make this sword?" Seung-Mina questioned, "Especially out of a simple sword like that?"

"We need to stab it into Soul Edge." Emma simply put. "It grew an eye when the Azure Knight started to rampage."

"Who's the Azure Knight?" Kilik tried to ask again.

"It's the next host of Soul Edge. A knight was possessed and his armour turned deep blue. That's why it's called the 'Azure Knight'. But that's only a nickname. Its real name is Nightmare." Emma replied, feeling quite knowledgeable. However, Seung-Mina and Kilik both looked quite anxious.

"I prefer the Azure Knight…" Seung- Mina laughed nervously.

Trying to avoid the topic, Emma steered the conversation to 'how we are going to travel all the way to Japan from here'. I might ask Seung-Mina to take us through Korea, Emma thought, and then find a way to Japan from there. It seemed like a good option.

"The Azure Knight is said to be in Japan, so could you take us through Korea?" Emma asked Seung-Mina, "We can even stop by your village if you want."

"That would be a brilliant idea!" Seung-Mina replied ecstatically, "You can tell me about yourself. Something tells me you aren't from this world at all!"

"How could you possibly guess?" Kilik chuckled. They finally left the village and followed the path to Korea. The sun was high in the sky, the mountains behind them, and far off into the distance, was the cerulean sea. The grass was jade green, and there was a cool breeze blowing softly through their hair. Emma could taste adventure on her tongue. Seung-Mina asked her questions every once in a while, and Emma asked her some back. Kilik only smiled behind them.

"So how did you end up here, Emma?" Seung-Mina questioned her.

"I apparently fell from the sky. I don't remember a thing before I got here. The only thing I remember is my name." Emma turned back to Kilik, "Wasn't that right?"

"Yeah, I thought she was an angel. No normal person could just fall from the sky like that."

"Well you do look… angelic." Seung-Mina laughed. "I never thought I could be in the presence of an angel!"

"Thanks. I had to come here to create Soul Calibur. It's the only thing which can balance out the evil in Soul Edge. Well, I didn't really have a choice to come here. But I'm glad all the same!" Emma smiled. She was talking to her favourite character from the game, in person, and was sharing the same airspace as the one she loved. She still couldn't believe it was real. "What made you come to China, Seung-Mina?" Emma felt the need to ask, even though she knew the answer already.

"I was on my way back from visiting the man who taught me the ways of the Ling-Sheng Su. Then I saw you two, so I'd thought I'd help."

Kilik was quite surprised. His fighting style was art of the Ling-Sheng Su.

"You know the ways of the Ling-Sheng Su?" Kilik asked Seung-Mina, baffled. "I was taught the art of the Ling-Sheng Su too!" Emma could only giggle at this awkward moment. They were both trained by the same person at different times, and they didn't even realise. Seung-Mina and Kilik both turned to Emma and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something you aren't telling us?" Seung-Mina said, putting her hands on her hips.

Emma gave up. "The Edge Master trained you both at different times. I knew all along. I was just waiting until you figured it out yourself!" Emma couldn't help but break into an amused smile as Kilik and Seung-Mina stared at each other's weapons.

"But yours has a blade on top." Kilik had to beg to differ. But before Seung-Mina could explain herself, Emma decided to be a psychic and told the story for her.

"Seung-Mina uses a combination of two styles. She uses the Ling-Sheng Su style, and the Seong Style Longsword style, her father's style." Emma stated with confidence. She knew her favourite character almost back to front. "In fact, another man taught her before the Edge Master, a certain Kong Xiuqiang. Isn't that right, Seung-Mina?"

Seung-Mina looked almost twice as baffled as Kilik was. "Yes." She could only reply. Smiling, Emma turned towards Kilik. "Do you know who he was?" That was clearly a rhetorical question, as Kilik shook his head. Emma went up to him put her hands on his left shoulder, and whispered in his ear. "It was Xianghua's father." Kilik narrowed his eyes at Xianghua's name. "Don't blame Seung-Mina, she didn't know." Wiping his face clean, he smiled back at Emma.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Good." Emma skipped back next to Seung-Mina, happy with her knowledge. Diverting the subject, Emma asked her, "How is Yun-Seong?" Emma asked her, twirling her Northern Star. Seung-Mina smiled.

"He is fine. Although, I have tried to track him down. He's after Soul Edge, clueless about the evil. He thinks it's good! That's why I decided to help you make Soul Calibur, so we can destroy Soul Edge for good!"

"To make Soul Calibur we have to destroy Soul Edge, so that's great. We are going to kill two birds with one stone." Emma laughed. "How's Hwang, hey?" Emma nudged her softly. Seung-Mina refuses to be anything other than Hwang's friend; however her father has different plans for her. "You do realise you father has arranged for you two to get married?"

Seung-Mina gasped. "What? I can't marry HWANG! That's ridiculous! I only see him as a friend!"

Kilik wore a 'welcome- to- my- world' expression on his face. "That is how I felt almost everyday."

Predicting that Xianghua would enter the conversation sooner or later, Emma swiftly changed the topic again. "So how far are we from Korea?"

"Not too far. We are nearly there." Seung-Mina beamed. "We just have to cross a river, and then it's down hill from there."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad." Kilik sighed with relief.

The three were strolling casually down the path, but there was a sudden drop. The path was cut off by a cliff edge, miles deep. At the very bottom, was a rapid flowing river, the width of it filling the gap between the three and the other side.

"How are we supposed to cross that?" Kilik exclaimed, peering down the sheer drop below, then quickly looking up.

Seung-Mina raised an eyebrow and pointed at a bridge a few metres away from them.

"What do you think I was going to make you do, swing across?" Seung-Mina laughed, sauntering over to the wooden bridge in a laid-back manner.

Emma sighed, following her across the bridge, before a wary Kilik.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Kilik asked agitatedly, poking at the bridge with his Kali-Yuga.

Seung-Mina shrugged. "I've crossed this bridge loads and nothing has happened before."

Emma could see why Kilik was worried. The water flow was fierce, the force powerful enough to break the base. If any more water, or a heavy substance, was to hit the bridge's base, it would collapse.

"Let's just cross this bridge quickly before anything happens." Emma suggested swiftly, slightly nudging Seung-Mina to move on ahead.

As if someone cursed them there and then, a violent surge of water was engulfing the river, swallowing up the calmer rapids, and heading straight for the bridge. Panicking, the three began to bolt down the bridge, however, the rapids beat them, completely demolishing the bridge's base, causing the fragile bridge itself to collapse with it. Screaming, the trio clutched onto some rope and braced themselves, colliding with the wall of the cliff. Seung-Mina and Kilik were forced to let go of their weapons. Luckily, Emma's swords were in their holders.

"I told you something like this would happen!" Kilik scolded Seung-Mina, shouting over the noise of the waves.

"Well, I didn't expect _that_!" Seung-Mina retorted with a scream, grasping onto the rope for dear life.

Almost in fate's apology, Emma spotted a man on a large raft, sailing fleetingly down the river in the distance.

"Quick, Mina, Kilik, we have to get on the raft!" Emma yelled, getting them to swing in the raft's direction.

"We can't just get on his raft!" Seung-Mina protested, wincing at the sight of the river.

"It's our only chance to live!" Kilik shrieked, watching the raft rush towards them.

On the count of three, the trio hurled themselves towards the raft, crash landing on it below, slightly bruising themselves. The man looked at them mysteriously. His thick, brown eyebrows were half-masking his dark eyes, underneath an Oriental straw hat, his sideburns literally burning in the heat. He wore a light green and red outfit, and was holding in one hand a large, wooden rod, to propel the raft in the right direction, and in the other hand were black, glossy, metal bars, which were attached to each other with a chain. A nunchaku. The trio steadily rose up, the force of the water almost knocking them off their feet.

"Li Long!" Emma smiled, bowing out of respect.

The man nodded and said nothing. His looked ahead of them, the river gradually calming down as it reached the sea.

Li Long made the raft drift towards the river's edge, allowing the three staggered warriors to reach land again.

"Thank you!" Kilik saluted, glad that he was back on dry land once again. Li Long only nodded at them again, steering the raft away, out of their sight. The trio smiled contently at the miracle.

After a few seconds, Seung-Mina and Kilik both remembered that they had dropped their weapons in the water. Cursing, Seung-Mina dived into the shallow water, feeling for her Scarlet Thunder. Kilik did the same, wading into the deeper side, reaching underneath the waters. Sighing, Emma decided to help too.

After at least half an hour of searching through the water, they were greeted by a man wearing a sea green sleeveless top, with a golden circle in the middle. He wore sea blue slacks, and a light blue scarf. His dark red hair was spiked up, and tied in a headband much like Seung-Mina's, around his forehead. Yun-Seong and Hwang were very similar in looks, Emma thought, although she noticed he brandished a long sword, with a blue hilt. It's Hwang. Emma thought, he has Blue Thunder. Both men had inherited a sword from Seung- Mina's family dojo, but Yun-Seong had inherited the family's other sword, White Storm, which has a red hilt. Hwang smiled when he saw Seung-Mina in the water, dripping wet. He smirked as he held their weapons up.

"Welcome back home Seung-Mina!" Hwang patted her on the shoulder, after handing their weapons back to Kilik and Mina. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea by hugging her, plus she was wet torso down. "And who are these friends of yours?" Hwang turned to look at Kilik and Emma. He put on a friendly smile.

"This is Emma and Kilik." Seung-Mina introduced. "We are going to find Soul Edge again!" Hwang's friendly smile turned into a stern look at Seung-Mina.

"Mina, you know that going after Soul Edge is dangerous."

"I'm aware." Seung-Mina whispered back.

"I don't know, your father will only want me to bring you back home. It's far too risky."

"Please, Hwang, just this once. Emma and Kilik are very strong warriors, I trust them."

Hwang sighed. "Fine then, I will trust them to look after you."

"I am not a child to be looked after! I am nineteen!" Seung-Mina grumbled.

"And playing in the water isn't childish to you?" Hwang retorted in pride. "I am older than you, and your father had entrusted me to look after you."

"You are only older by a few years…" Seung-Mina gave up. "Can at least visit my father? I need to have a word with him immediately." She growled, stomping off down the path which leads to her dojo, leaving a trail of water from where her hair had gotten wet. Hwang merely laughed back.

"What did he do this time?" Hwang sighed again as he followed behind her, "I always thought you run away from your father, not want to see him."

Kilik and Emma followed behind them, watching the drama arise. Kilik and Emma couldn't help but laugh to themselves.

"What's happening?" Kilik asked Emma quietly, since she already knew what was going to happen.

"Just wait for it…" Emma held her breath. "And…now."

"What did he do his time? He's trying to get us MARRIED!" Seung-Mina started to rant at Hwang, who was just as unhappy as well.

"MARRIED?"

"YES, MARRIED."

Hwang just burst into laughter. "Your father is desperate to have me in the family isn't he?" Hwang chuckled boastfully, "First he asks to adopt me, next he is arranging for us to get married!" He thought for a moment. "How did you find that out?" Seung-Mina looked at Emma and then back at Hwang again.

"She is an angel, Hwang. She watches over us." Seung-Mina whispered to him. His eyes widened. Emma, hearing the conversation, catches up to them and explains the situation to Hwang. She even held out her glowing hand to prove she had powers.

"So you are an angel who knows everything about us, and now you are trying to create a sword which has the power of good rather than evil, like Soul Edge." He ponders over the situation a bit, then added, "You have a much more interesting life than I have. All I'm trying to do with my life is get a promotion." He received a pat on the back from Seung-Mina as they both led Kilik and Emma to their dojo. It was only a small dojo, with a few trees and a courtyard. Seung-Mina angrily stormed in, followed by an amused Hwang and anticipating Emma and Kilik.

"FATHER!" Seung-Mina yelled at the top of her voice. Chuckling, a man appeared from behind a door inside the dojo. He had similar features to Seung-Mina, and a beard.

"Seung-Mina, my beautiful daughter, you have returned home!" her father smiled, walking towards her. He noticed Hwang and greeted him. Kilik and Emma were like bystanders. The others didn't notice them. Seung-Mina's father noticed they were sodden. "Why are you wet?"

"I only return home to find out that I have been arranged to marry Hwang?" Seung-Mina crossed her arms in rage, placing her weapon down on the floor next to her, completely ignoring his last comment.

"Mina, I didn't tell anyone about it. How could you possibly know that before I even…"

Seung-Mina, Hwang and even Kilik turned to face Emma and smiled. Thanks, put the blame on me, Emma thought. Her father smiled at her.

"Who might you be, friend of my daughter?" he asked Emma.

"I am Emma, an angel who fell from the sky, on a mission to create a sword which can balance out the evils of Soul Edge, and even destroy it. I watch over warriors' lives, ones that play an important role with Soul Edge. Your daughter has an important role, so I watch over her. I can foresee into the future, so I knew that you would arrange to marry her with Hwang."

Seung-Mina's father completely forgot the marriage and shed a tear. "My daughter, my Seung-Mina, is watched over by an angel…"

"She is a brave, fearless warrior who puts other's first rather than herself," Emma complimented.

Seung-Mina's father lowered his head. "I am so sorry Mina, for trying to marry you without your permission." He lifted his head and smiled at her, "Now go, you need to assist your guardian angel in finding Soul Edge." Seung-Mina was quite shocked.

"Are you sure?" she said, in her bemused state.

"I am positive. When an angel is in your presence, and watching over you, I feel happier letting you free."

"Thank you Father." Seung-Mina hugged her father and picked up her Scarlet Thunder.

"Good luck on your quest." He bid them all farewell, as Emma, Kilik, Hwang and Seung-Mina walked out of the door.

They left the dojo and followed the path to the harbour, the cold wind wafting gently through the air. Emma gripped her sword slightly tighter. She loved the adrenalin of adventure, the wind rushing through her hair, sword in hand. She had smiled for longer than she had ever before in her previous life. Hwang agreed to escort them to the harbour, then told them he had to go and train to fight for their country.

"This is the harbour." Hwang held out his hands, his scarf flapping about everywhere. "Good bye, Mina." He patted her on the shoulder again, and saluted to Emma and Kilik, and ran out of sight. Kilik, Emma and Seung-Mina gazed around the harbour. There weren't any boats about, except for one. Emma decided to ask the captain of the boat if they can be escorted, but before they even reached the boat, a man waved to Kilik, from the tip of the boat. He wore a white jacket, white slacks and black shoes on his feet, his black hair flipped to one side in front of his face. He certainly didn't look like a sailor, but more like an Elvis Presley impersonator. Of course, Elvis didn't even exist, so he couldn't have possibly copied him. There is only one answer to this and one name that pops up…

_A/N: Li Long and Hwang fans rejoice! I had to include them. And also, Seong Mi-na fans will notice I spelt her name the old way. The reason for this is that the story is set in Soul Calibur 1, so I thought it would be fitting. I'm pretty sure you know who is waiting on the boat for them though..._


	5. Sail Over The Storm

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) So, I'm an angel with powers, I have my fantasy crush fall for me and I have made friends with my favourite character. I have some hopeful fantasies. Anyhoo, here is Chapter 5!_

Chapter 5: Sail Over the Storm

"Kilik!" The man greeted him, running down the board which let them on the ship and patted him on the arm. What's with everyone and patting, Emma thought, quite amused. Seung-Mina turned to Emma and raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess- you know him too." Seung-Mina predicted.

"Carry on like this, Mina, and you will be good as me!" Emma joked, lightly punching her on the arm, Seung-Mina laughing with her.

"Wow, you brought two ladies too?" the Elvis man got slightly hyped, but then raised an eyebrow after inspecting them. "Where is Xianghua? She would be mad if she found out you were travelling-"

"Just shut up about her already!" Kilik shouted suddenly. Everyone was quite shocked. Emma slapped her forehead.

Emma tried to amend the awkwardness. "Look, Maxi, it's a long story…"

"You know my name…?" Maxi raised his other eyebrow too.

Kilik and Seung-Mina looked at each other, then said "You get used to it."

Kilik, feeling quite ashamed of himself, then asked Maxi, "Can we go to Japan?" Feeling in a good mood, Maxi smiles and replies, "Anything for you, Kilik! Hop onto the boat!" Maxi runs back up the wooden plank to his ship, followed by Kilik and Emma, holding hands, and Seung-Mina.

The ship was quite large, and slightly damaged in places. Although, Maxi seemed to be attached to his ship. Kilik pulled a rope to raise the flag as told by Maxi, who was untying the rope which kept the ship docked in the harbour. After pulling up the plank and taking the wheel, the ship set sail, towards Japan. Kilik made himself comfortable on a crate, whilst Emma sat on the base of the mast. Seung-Mina, being the adventurous sort, was holding onto a rope and was leaning away from the mast, facing the front of the ship.

Maxi, feeling as self-absorbent as always, asked Emma, "So Kilik as been telling you about me, I see."

Much to his surprise, Emma replied with a no. "This is the long story we needed to tell you, which covers everything."

Agreeing to hear her story, Emma tells them everything she did since she arrived here, from her being an angel, to Xianghua's mysterious death, and the fact they need to create Soul Calibur. It's Maxi and Seung-Mina's first time hearing the story, so listen with interest, whilst Kilik just added things when he needed to.

"So let me get this straight: Xianghua killed herself, because you two are together?" Maxi pondered. Kilik and Emma both nodded. "Wow. Hard life. And you know everything about me!" He grinned at Emma. He couldn't help but bring the conversation back to himself.

"Yes. You are a Japanese pirate, who used to travel with your merchant father from harbour to harbour. You first met Kilik at an Indian port. And Li Long taught you the way of the nunchaku, did he not?" Emma stated, whilst Maxi nodded, looking at his weapon, "And that's when the Edge Master was training you, Seung-Mina." She added, smiling at Seung-Mina.

"That makes so much sense." Seung-Mina was fitting the pieces of the Soul Calibur puzzle together.

"All of you warriors, who seek Soul Edge, are connected. It's destiny for you." Emma truthfully told them. Kilik, Maxi and Seung-Mina looked at each other, then looked out at the sea. "You are all together, under the star of destiny." The sun was just below the horizon, and the stars were beginning to appear. The sky had hundreds of colours, which blended together, like they were painted with the brush of nature. They all looked up at the night sky, even Maxi, who was supposed to be steering the ship.

Seung-Mina decided to speak up. "You were one of those stars, Emma, once." Seung-Mina jumped off her rope and sat next to her. "I believe you can make Soul Calibur, Emma, and you can make the world a better place. I know you can." Emma smiled for a second then lowered her head. She placed Northern Star next to her, and pulled out Krita-Yuga. A teardrop fell onto the sword.

"It was supposed to be Xianghua's destiny to make Soul Calibur, not me. I am rewriting history just by speaking to you." Emma sighed, but Seung-Mina was determined to cheer her up.

"Then you can rewrite history in an even better way than Xianghua ever would!" Seung-Mina put her arm on the shoulder nearest to her. "All of us, together, we are helping you. You have just joined the connection to Soul Edge, and fixed the gap between Xianghua and the rest of us." What Seung-Mina just said to her make her smile again. She gave her a friendly hug.

"Thank you for believing, Seung-Mina." Emma had to confess, "It's always been a dream of mine to talk to you in person. To be friends with you, as travel companions. You inspire me to be a braver, stronger warrior, and for that, I thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I'm off to bed, it's getting late." Seung-Mina yawned as she got up, "Are you ok steering the boat, Maxi?" She offered to help, but Maxi thanked her and told her to go to sleep. He will be fine, Seung-Mina thought as she hopped into the cabin underneath the ship. Emma just noticed that Kilik wasn't sitting on the crate anymore. Turning around, she saw him near the back of boat, staring blankly at the ocean passing him. I'm surprised the salt didn't hurt his eyes, Emma thought as she walked over to him. She put her head on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Kilik?" Emma was quite worried. Was it something she had said before? Just to confirm, Emma added, "It wasn't me, was it?" In response to that, Kilik gave her a long, tight hug.

"It would never be you." Kilik kissed her on her neck like she did back at the temple, "I was just reflecting back on my life."

"Kilik, you have been through a lot in your life, I understand that. I understand how you blame yourself for the death of Xianglian, like I blame myself for the death of Xianghua."

"There is no need to blame yourself for her death. She was selfish and, more importantly, she was jealous of you."

"I can't help but feel guilty, I feel by even coming here I have ruined the world's future, let alone me just being responsible for her actions." Emma held his hand and looked out onto the sea and the night sky in the distance. "I have a feeling that Soul Calibur can't be made, and it would be my entire fault."

"Don't doubt yourself, Emma." Kilik whispered before he kissed her lightly on the lips. "You are the most gifted girl I have ever met."

Smiling, she kissed him back, holding the back of his head as he held her back. It was the most romantic kiss she had ever had. And she had very few kisses. A kiss out at sea, at night, under the stars, Emma thought, it's like a movie! Although, she felt that someone was watching, so she turned her head slowly to see if she can catch Maxi watching them, from the corner of her eye. She felt eyes staring, but Maxi was fully focused on the sea. After all, he is driving the ship at night, Emma thought, he can't really look at them. Emma felt slightly paranoid.

"Are you ok?" Kilik looked at her with minor worry. Kilik must have seen him if he did look.

"It's nothing, don't worry." Emma settled to telling her thoughts to him. "It's really… romantic, isn't it?" Kilik looked around him and then looked back at her.

"Yeah, it is."

"I thought Maxi was looking at us before, but it probably was just me." Emma whispered quietly. She didn't want Maxi to hear.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but he's probably just being nosey." Kilik laughed softly to himself. "He has been through a lot too."

"Astaroth killed all his crew. Maxi is out to avenge Kyam, isn't he?" Emma questioned him. She knew that Kyam was Maxi's sworn brother, so Maxi and Kilik had a lot in common, as they both blamed themselves for the death of their sworn siblings.

"Yeah. He is out to kill Astaroth, but I don't know how he was going to face him. He is a golem." Kilik could clearly remember when he met him at the Indian port, and Astaroth and his lizard henchmen attacked the ship. Astaroth managed to take Kilik's Dvapara-Yuga shard off him, causing him to lose his sanity again. Maxi saved him, and found that his crew, and his sworn brother, had been killed by the gargantuan golem. Maxi and Kilik became friends there after, when Maxi agreed to travel with him. Kilik soon returned to the temple with Xianghua after Maxi found Astaroth again.

"Are you ok?" Maxi definitely was looking at them. He must have heard the conversation, Emma thought.

"Yeah," Kilik nodded, "Emma, I think you should go to sleep too. I'm going to help Maxi." He kissed Emma goodnight and went over to the front of the ship. Emma yawned silently, grabbing her swords, and went downstairs, nestling into a cabin and falling asleep soundly.

Emma woke up suddenly, realising she was on the floor. She must have fallen off her bed. The sound of torrential rain and thunder was engulfing the atmosphere. We're in a storm, Emma thought. Rushing over to Seung-Mina's cabin, she found a startled Seung-Mina on the floor too, her eyes wide open.

"Are you ok, Mina?" Emma asked her, holding out her hand to help her up. She always wanted to call her by her nickname.

"Yeah, I'm ok. We should go and check on the guys!" Seung-Mina remembered all of a sudden and ran up the creaky, wooden stairs with her Scarlet Thunder in her hand. It was then Emma realised that the floorboards were all damp, and the boat strongly smelled of salt. Emma and Seung-Mina were both struggling to remain standing as the boat was rocking violently from side to side. Quickly grabbing Krita-Yuga and Northern Star, Emma followed Seung-Mina up the stairs, trying to keep her balance.

The stars they were watching a few hours ago were now shrouded with dark thunderclouds which, every so often, spat out lightning, after they rumbled with almost rage. It was heavily raining, and as soon as the two girls stepped out onto the deck, they were soaked through. Kilik and Maxi, who were even more drenched then the girls, were both grabbing onto the wheel, trying to steer the boat with all their might. Emma and Seung-Mina was tossed about the deck even so often due to the waves thrashing into the side of the boat. All they can do was hold onto the mast of the ship, the sail fiercely flapping about in the harsh wind. The salt in the air stung Emma's body, causing her to let go of the mast, catapulting her to the back of the boat, her swords sliding to the back of the boat with her. She tried to force her eyes open again, her drenched hair wildly flailing in the storm, almost black due to the torrential rain. She desperately grabbed onto the side of the boat, watching the stormy seas. The waves were crashing onto each other, almost as if they were at war. Emma watched the spectacle of adventure, gasping every once in a while, trying to breathe. She suddenly widened her eyes and saw something in the distance. It was almost like a white, wispy figure, leaping from the waves, like a spirit. It looked like a girl, reaching for the sky, almost as if she was going to die that second. She disintegrated a split second later, letting her remains get swallowed up by the hungry waves. Emma was completely shocked. Was that a sign? Emma thought, as the waves continued to battle with each other. I'm probably getting paranoid again, Emma mumbled as she picked up her swords and put it in their holders, forcing her way forward, nearer the front of the ship.

"Are you ok?" Seung-Mina yelled to Emma, having to shout over the waves. Her braid was flying all over the place, her top clinging onto her skin. Emma could just about hear her.

"Yes, I'm fine! Are you ok?" Emma had to shout just as loud back to her.

"Yeah, I'm ok!" Seung-Mina replied in an almost scream. They could both hear Kilik and Maxi's screams too.

"Turn left!" Maxi yelled at him, frantically grabbing the wheel and pushing it towards Kilik's direction, whilst Kilik pulled it and pushed it downwards, the wheel spinning back to Maxi again.

"Turn right now!" Kilik yelled back at him, swapping roles.

"Straighten the boat!" Maxi grabbed the top handle and the handle nearest to him whilst Kilik clutched the bottom handle and another handle closest to him as they held onto it for their lives, forcing it not to move. Emma looked up at the sky, the rain half blinding her, searching for any sign of the rain stopping. The deck was starting to hold up all of the salty rainwater. Emma quickly sprinted to the front of the boat, almost falling flat on her face as she did, and held onto the side of the boat again. She was quite close to Kilik now, and he noticed her.

"Are you ok?" Kilik tried to ask her sweetly, but it ended up being a yelp as the boat suddenly rocked again.

"Yes, Kilik, do you need help?" Emma was slipping slightly.

"No, we will be alright!" Kilik shouted over the noise to even hear himself.

Looking in front of her, Emma saw what looked like land in the distance. It looked like a thin, bumpy, black blur in the storm. Confirming her guess, Maxi shouted, "Land ho!" Emma assumed this must be Japan. Maxi had been travelling on ships all his life, from harbour to harbour. He had the practice, Emma thought, this must be Japan. The sea had calmed down, but the rain still was pouring. The thunderclouds still rolled over them, rumbling every so often. They arrived at the harbour safely.

Dripping wet, Kilik, Emma, Seung-Mina hopped of the ship as soon as Maxi put down the wooden plank again. He lowered the sail and jumped off too, tying a piece of rope to thick metal, which held the boat in the harbour. Maxi touched his hair and winced.

"It took me ages to make this look good." Maxi mumbled as he flicked his hair, to look almost like it was before it was drenched. Seung-Mina was wringing out her plait and asked Emma, "So where are we heading to?" In reply, Emma shook out her own hair and flipped it backwards.

"We have to rest. It is really late, and we can't chase down the Azure Knight in the rain anyway. We first need to find a dry, warm place to rest for tonight, and then we have to continue our search tomorrow." Emma replied, shivering in the process. The other three nodded and headed through a path which cut through a forest. The forest was dark and damp, but it sheltered them from the worst of the rain. Maxi led the way, followed by Kilik, Seung-Mina and Emma. Thinking Maxi knew where to go; Emma slowed down and let them go ahead. She was exhausted as she didn't get much sleep at all. She tried to keep her eyes open. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a large hand covered her mouth and held her tightly around the waist.

"Don't struggle or you shall watch your friends die." A deep, male voice growled in her ear. She had heard the voice for somewhere, but she couldn't recognise it immediately. It could be anyone, Emma thought. The man rapidly pressed his other hand to her throat and she slowly lost her consciousness. Slinging the unconscious Emma on his shoulder, the man disappeared before her team realised she was even gone.

"So, like I was saying Emma, I hardly want my father to choose who I..." Seung-Mina was mindlessly talking to herself the entire time, before realising Emma was missing. "Emma? Emma?" Seung-Mina gasped and she rapidly darted towards Kilik and Maxi, overtaking them and blocking their path. She made a screeching sound with the bottom of her shoes as soon as she stopped.

"Emma is gone!" Seung-Mina exclaimed hysterically, leading to an astonished Maxi and a furious Kilik.

"What?" Maxi and Kilik both shouted in unison.

"What happened?" Kilik's grip on Kali-Yuga tightened.

"I was talking to Emma, and she was right there, and next thing I knew, I turned around and she wasn't there!" Seung-Mina explained in a panic, flailing her hands about as she did.

"We have to find her." Kilik growled with fortitude.

"How can we find her if we didn't even know what happened to her? Anything could have happened!" Maxi said, noting the problems with the rescue plan.

The trio heard footsteps in the direction they were heading to. They grasped their weapons and went into their battle stances, but relaxed as it was just a harmless woman. She held and parasol over her head, the rim just covering her pale face. She wore a pink and white kimono, with detailed patterns woven into the fine silk fabric, with long sleeves, one of which was slipped off her shoulder, revealing a short, dark purple top underneath. A colourful, flower decorated tattoo was emblazoned on her upper arm. Her thick, black oriental sandals splashed into the puddles as she walked. Her dark red lips started to move.

"Heishiro took her." They spoke to the suspicious three. "Heishiro Mitsurugi." She tilted her parasol hand backwards suddenly so they could see her entire face. She had light blonde hair which some fell on the sides of her cheekbones, whilst the rest was tied in a ponytail, a Japanese hair clip supporting it. Her eyes were sharper than a knife. "She is probably in that pagoda on the verge of death." She spoke with no emotion in her voice. "Good luck trying to get her back." She continued to walk past them, tilting her parasol back to its original position. "You are going to need it."

Kilik immediately took her advice and began to sprint rapidly towards the pagoda in the distance, whilst Maxi and Seung-Mina started to follow him, looking back at the geisha for a second, then towards the towering pagoda where their friend needed their help.

_A/N: I told you I was going to suffer later, Xianghua fans! I am kidnapped in Japan, but who is the culprit? And did you spot the cameo? (i couldn't help myself) Reminds you of a certain Soul Calibur 3 intro? Can I say 'deadly cherry blossoms'? AHEM, anyways, Chapter 6 is next, my favourite chapter!_


	6. Ephermeral Dream

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) This is one of the best chapters! Perfect title too! Ok, so, the kidnapper shall be revealed! Enjoy!_

Chapter 6: Ephemeral Dream

Emma opened her eyes. She stared at a ceiling, criss-crossed with red, painted wooden beams. She leaped up and whipped out her swords. That man must have kidnapped me, Emma thought. Trying to act a bit brave, Emma snarled.

"How dare you hold me hostage here! Show yourself, if you know what's good for you!" She pointed Northern Star at every possible direction where her kidnapper could be hiding. A figure smiled in the shadows.

"You are braver than you look. If you wish to fight to the death, so be it!" the man stepped out of the darkness towards her. He has long, dark hair, which was tied back in a messy ponytail. He wore dark grey slacks, tied with white cloth at his ankles, Japanese style, with oriental sandals on his feet. His chest and right arm was bare, however he wore dark red and silver armour entirely on his left arm. The man unsheathed a long sword, a katana, from the red belted holder around his waist. His eyes gleamed with power. The man was muscular and looked very powerful. He looked like a samurai. In fact, Emma knew he was a samurai.

"Heishiro Mitsurugi." Emma flexed her shoulders. "Why do you hold me hostage?"

He smirked. His confidence got the better of him. "You and your sword, hold power. I need that power."

"So you can defeat the rifle?" Emma was glad she had the knowledge of his life to catch him off guard. His family suffered all his life during the wars in Japan, and became a samurai when his parents died at the age of fourteen. He took a new name with his new sword, Korefuji, and became known as 'Heishiro Mitsurugi'. When he found out that the rifle was invented, Mitsurugi tried to track down Soul Edge so he can use it to defeat the rifle. Power hungry, Mitsurugi tried to train himself to defeat the rifle, he even got a new sword, Shishi-Oh, but he still failed. He is after Soul Calibur, Emma thought to herself.

"I need that sword to create the legendary sword you speak of." Mitsurugi growled, stepping closer to her.

"I cannot let you have the sword, Mitsurugi." Emma raised her weapons. "I will do anything to protect the future Soul Calibur!"

"Fine then. Let's end this…once and for all!" Mitsurugi roared as he ran towards her.

Emma reacted just in time, as she was holding up her swords in an 'X', blocking Mitsurugi's vertical attack which was centimetres from her face. Slashing his katana away, Emma swiped her two swords in a cross, spearing Krita-Yuga straight through his shoulder armour, breaking it off. Retaliating, Mitsurugi swung his sword horizontally, only to be blocked by Emma's Northern Star in her right hand. Emma, catching him off guard, flipped backwards, delivering a blow to his face with her kick. She slashed Krita-Yuga downwards, followed by Northern Star a split second later in the same direction, crouching down and spinning on one foot as she did. She kicked him with her other foot, causing him to flip backward; however, to her surprise, he landed perfectly, and started to stab his sword where her face would have been if she didn't roll over. She put her hands behind her and immediately leapt upwards, kicking him in the progress. Emma was about to cut him across the face, but was blocked by his sword, which was so long so he didn't need to react as fast. He slapped her face with the flat side of his sword, resulting Emma into quickly somersaulting sideward so she can land upright, only to be greeted by his sword again, slicing her across the chest this time, almost near her neck. She tried using her powers, creating a small orb of blue energy, shooting it directly at him. Nothing happened. Why doesn't it work? Emma thought to herself in annoyance. Mitsurugi laughed repulsively, quickly seizing her by the shoulders and shoved her into the wall, quite aggressively.

"Hehe. _Shoushi senban_." Mitsurugi sniggered in Japanese. His face was really close to hers, his breath warm on her skin. Emma knew pretty well what he just said to her.

"How dare you…" Emma struggled in his grasp, but he was pinning her to the wall tightly, it was almost impossible to escape.

"You were a worthy adversary… but you will just be another stain on my blade!" he sneered, placing his katana close to her neck. "You will give me that sword, or else I will kill you right here."

"It isn't your destiny to create Soul Calibur!" Emma protested with dignity. "I have died and came back to life right before somebody's eyes before, I can do it again!"

Mitsurugi smirked again. He has got some nerve, Emma thought with rage building up inside of her.

"I forgot that you were an 'angel'." Mitsurugi sniggered.

How could he possibly know that I'm an angel, Emma thought. Then she realised that he must have heard them talking. "Were you following us the entire time?"

"It took you a while to figure that out, princess." Mitsurugi stared at her, pressing the katana closer to her neck. "Now, hand over you precious sword, or I shall send the angel to hell!"

Emma winced. The katana was starting to cut her skin, tiny drops of blood trickling across his sword.

"What ever happened to the humble warrior who did everything he could for his family, because they had suffered so much?"

"My family has nothing to do with this!" Mitsurugi snarled, cutting further into her skin.

"Why do you want to beat the rifle? Why fight in all these wars? For yourself?"

Mitsurugi smirked at her blood flowing down his katana. "I have no mercy."

"You wouldn't kill me." Emma attempted to reason, glaring into his eyes. Mitsurugi has a heart of stone, and nerves of steel, but she needed to give it a go. She wasn't willing to die so quickly, especially when all she ever wished for came true.

Mitsurugi just laughed. "Watch me."

As if a miracle happened, Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi burst through the pagoda doors, with their weapons at the ready. As soon as Kilik saw Mitsurugi, his eyes burned with fury. He wasn't going to let him touch her anymore.

"Let her go." Kilik snarled, raising his Kali-Yuga slowly, gripping his hands firmly onto the rod. Mitsurugi chuckled darkly to himself.

"Or what you going to do? Whack me to death?" Mitsurugi laughed out loud.

"If you have touched her, or have done anything to her, you will die!" Kilik snapped back at him.

"Oh, like this?" Mitsurugi started to press his sword further into her skin. Emma was trying to hold back the tears of pain. "Or this?" Mitsurugi moved the sword away from her neck and started to kiss it instead. Emma started to struggle, but he was too strong for her.

"Get off me, you, little…" Emma was silenced as he started to kiss her on the lips. It was rough, and hard, unlike Kilik's. Emma didn't like it at all. Kilik tried to hold back his own tears.

"Leave her alone!" Seung-Mina started to scream at him.

"Before we defeat you like the mongrel you are!" Maxi added, twirling his nunchaku about. "Nobody messes with Kilik like that!"

"So you are eager to die. Very well then." Mitsurugi sniggered, throwing Emma across the room. "I'll cut you apart as many times as you like."

"You'll only regret this." Maxi started to charge at him.

"Okay, let's go!" Seung-Mina yelled in battle cry manner.

Kilik held his rod and muttered, "Trust me, I won't lose."

The three warriors began to charge at Mitsurugi, who only cracked his neck. Maxi was first to attack, but was only shoved to one side by the samurai. Seung-Mina was more of a challenge to Mitsurugi. She started to twirl her halberd about like a baton, whilst Mitsurugi waited for an opening. As soon as Seung-Mina stop twirling she rapidly guarded his fast swipe near her unguarded stomach. She thrust his katana away from her, attacking his chest with three quick jabs with the tip of her blade. Kilik decided to seize the opportunity to attack Mitsurugi, whilst Seung-Mina distracted him, however the samurai noticed him approaching and guarded both of their vertical attacks in one go. Maxi finally made a comeback and smacked one of his legs with his nunchaku, but only received a nasty kick in the jaw. Mitsurugi managed to keep standing, no matter what they did. Emma managed to recover slightly, and began to attack him from behind, taking Maxi's place. Mitsurugi started to pick up the pace, attacking every one in one go. Kilik was enraged with what he did to Emma that he went into frenzy, similar to when the Evil Seed made him lose his sanity, thrusting his Kali-Yuga at face height, which Mitsurugi only blocked. Seung-Mina charged at the samurai, grabbing his shoulders and somersaulting over him. Seung-Mina landed behind him, shoving Mitsurugi's head into the floor below. The samurai leaped up, hurling Seung-Mina into the wall behind him, furious. Maxi and Kilik were now either side of Mitsurugi, attacking him with a combined force. Emma and Seung-Mina both got up, charging at Mitsurugi from the front and behind, the four warriors completely surrounding him. With the combined tactics of Kilik's furious, speedy attacks, Seung-Mina's powerful high attacks, Emma's tactical mid range attacks and Maxi's painful low attacks, they eventually got Mitsurugi to his knees. Kilik raised his rod above his head behind him and snarled at the samurai.

"You will regret this." Kilik scowled, about to deliver a powerful blow to his head, when a familiar voice made him stop.

"Kilik, don't kill him." Emma warned. She had healed her cut on her neck and her chest, but there was still a faded mark where it was. "He is an important warrior. He is a connection." Kilik lowered his rod and hugged her tightly.

"Let's go." Holding her around the waist, almost protectively, Kilik led Emma out of the pagoda, followed by Seung-Mina and Maxi. Mitsurugi rose up from the floor, almost defeated, and said with determination, "Next time, I won't hold back. The name's Mitsurugi. Remember it!" He growled with pride in his eyes.

The four warriors were back on the path to a village where they could rest for the night. The rain had finally stopped, and the moon revealed itself from underneath the blanket of clouds. The stars were starting to appear again. Kilik was now carrying Emma bridal style along the road, with Kali-Yuga strapped to his back, whilst Seung-Mina and Maxi were either side of them. Kilik didn't want Emma going out of his sight again.

"What did he do to you." Kilik finally mumbled out of the silence. Seung-Mina and Maxi had gotten curious about what had happened too.

"I woke up on the floor of the pagoda, and he revealed himself. He wanted the sword, so he can have Soul Calibur for himself." Emma told them, wide awake now, just in case.

"Why did he want Soul Calibur?" Maxi asked. He didn't know why such a strong samurai would want a powerful sword when he had just enough himself.

As if to contradict what he said, Emma simply said, "Power."

"He was strong enough as it is!" Seung-Mina exclaimed, "Why would he want more power?" Maxi realised that she had just repeated what he thought and raised an eyebrow at her. Seung-Mina just shrugged.

"He is looking for a powerful weapon which can beat the rifle when he is in a war." Emma vaguely shrugged too as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I couldn't let him have it, as his destiny is to become more powerful and defeat the rifle himself, without either one of the two Soul swords."

"Did you have to fight him?"

"Obviously. He was persistent, and after fighting for a while, he caught me off guard and pinned me to the wall." Emma sighed. "I should have been more careful. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry. We saved you anyway!" Seung-Mina skipped lightly. "We aren't beaten so easily, you know!" Emma smiled. That is one of her favourite catchphrases.

"Thank you, all of you, I couldn't possibly imagine what he would do to me if you didn't come in time." Emma looked ahead of her. The moonlit path was covered in puddles. She imagined cherry blossom trees on either side of the path, in rows. The path vaguely reminded her of Soul Calibur III, when a girl in a kimono was walking down a path just like this one, her thick oriental sandals stepping into the puddles, with cherry blossom petals falling around her. She had the rim of her colourful parasol covering her face, only lifting the parasol to reveal it when Mitsurugi unsheathed his sword ahead of her.

"We had help from a lady in a kimono. She was actually was pretty attractive." Maxi chuckled to himself. Typical Maxi, Emma thought. Wait, Emma thought again, a girl in a kimono? This is Japan, I understand there would be a lot of geishas about, but this is too coincidental. Emma thought.

"How did she help you? Explain everything." Emma was curious this time.

"She was walking down the path in the opposite direction," Seung-Mina started to explain, "She had a parasol which covered her face. She told us 'Heishiro took her, Heishiro Mitsurugi.' Then she lifted her parasol suddenly and it was so scary! Her eyes were so… dark. Like she was going to kill us!" Seung-Mina trailed off whilst Maxi continued.

"Then she said to us: 'She's probably in that pagoda on the verge of death. Good luck trying to get her back.' She was quite feisty." Maxi chuckled to himself again.

"I see." Emma's eyes sparkled. She knew exactly who she was. And it would have been deja-vu if she was there with them. Maybe that's why she and Mitsurugi met each other there in Soul Calibur III, Emma thought, because of me! Emma suddenly felt special.

"Do you know her?" Seung-Mina noticed Emma's thoughtful expression.

"Yes, she is another connection to Soul Edge. You may come across her again someday, in the future." Emma replied, being the wise one. She realised Kilik was silent the entire time.

"Are you ok Kilik?" Emma asked him, getting him to look at her. He gazed into her eyes and smiled.

"Yeah. I just thought I lost you for a moment then."

"You will never lose me." Emma nuzzled herself into his chest whilst Maxi and Seung-Mina both said, "Aww."

They arrived at a small village, which was almost deserted. It was the middle of the night after all. Creeping into an inn to stay for the night, the team searched for some rooms available. However, the inn was empty; there wasn't even an innkeeper. Thinking the owner wouldn't mind if they stayed for a night, the four silently tip-toed up the stairs where they found four empty rooms, all opposite each other. They each chose their rooms. Maxi quickly fell asleep, as he must have been shattered from the sea journey, however Kilik, Seung-Mina and Emma didn't sleep immediately. They all crowded in Emma's room temporarily, making plans about the next day, and asking Emma various questions.

"So what does the Azure Knight look like? Just in case we have to split up to find him." Seung-Mina wasn't only thinking tactically, she was also curious. She wanted to know what the next host to Soul Edge would even look like. Would he turn out the same like Cervantes, or would he have a completely different look?

"He looks like an ordinary knight, except his armour is a deep blue, like the night sky, and he wears a helm, with a thin gap which only reveals his yellow eyes, and seemly darkness underneath, and which has a horn attached to it, like a rhino's, but a lot thinner. And he carries a very large version of Soul Edge, with an eye, almost the same height as him. He wields enough strength and power to carry it." Seung-Mina nodded as Emma described his looks.

"He sounds a lot different from Cervantes' Soul Edge form." Seung-Mina identified. Kilik was slightly puzzled.

"Who is Cervantes? I know there were previous hosts, but I never heard of him before."

"Cervantes was a Spanish pirate who came across Soul Edge in an auction. As soon as he touched them, his body was possessed and he started to rampage much like the Azure Knight is now, except with a ghost ship and crew. When he died, Soul Edge released him, and the sword started to fight with its own soul, in the form of a flaming skeleton, and with its swords. A woman broke the smaller of the swords, but Soul Edge returned to its sword form, almost defeated, but then a foolish knight grabbed Soul Edge and he became the next host to Soul Edge. Nightmare."

"I went after Soul Edge a few years ago, unaware of its evil, during the time when Cervantes was the host." Seung-Mina added.

Kilik was still interested in the Soul Edge's previous victim. "What happened to the previous host?"

"Nobody knows." Seung-Mina immediately stated, but then remembered Emma's creepy yet useful insight into their lives. "But I bet Emma does."

Emma smiled a little. "Many say he is dead, but he has come back to life. He was resurrected by Nightmare unintentionally, as he still had some remains of Soul Edge in his body. He is trying to find fragments of the shattered Soul Edge sword." Kilik and Seung-Mina both looked quite worried. "He shouldn't be a threat though. His destiny isn't to succeed in becoming the next host. Soul Edge doesn't have enough power to keep him alive for long." Emma added, relieving the fear in their faces.

"So how are we going to track down the Azure Knight?" Seung-Mina diverted the topic to the current host.

"How we got to Japan in the first place- find out his current location, then hunt him down as quickly as we can." Emma planned the whole mission out. "Now, off to bed, both of you, we have a busy day of legendary sword hunting and making tomorrow!" Seung-Mina gave Emma a hug goodnight as she left the room to her own.

"'Night Kilik." Emma gave him a quick peck on the cheek and shooed him to his room. Tomorrow holds a lot for us, Emma thought as she dozed off to sleep.

The next day, Emma rose up early, the sunlight shining brightly through the windows. She neatened her dress and quickly put her armour on, which she tossed on top of a wooden chest in front of her bed. Slipping on her shoes and her sword holders, Emma walked out of her room quietly to check if the others were awake. Seung-Mina was already up and ready, except she had her long hair loose as she was combing it. Emma and Seung-Mina giggled.

"Do you need help plaiting it again, Mina?" Emma offered to help, in which Seung-Mina gladly accepted with gratitude. Emma quickly set to work, plaiting her hair in a complicated way until she had reached the tip. Emma always wanted to plait Seung-Mina's hair into a fishtail plait. Seung-Mina was impressed.

"Wow!" She gazed into a full length mirror, admiring the plait. "Thank you, Emma!" Seung-Mina beamed as she wore her headband, taking out the two tufts of hair.

Emma told her she was going to check on the others and just as she opened the door, Maxi came out of his room, just like yesterday, only he managed to fix his hair perfectly, which the rain had ruined last night.

"You alright, Emma?" Maxi asked her, yawning soon after.

"I'm fine, did you get enough sleep?"

"Yep. I just need to get myself active!" He replied with a lot of energy in his voice, twirling his nunchaku about. Emma laughed.

"Yeah, sure, whatever Maxi. Is Kilik awake yet?" Emma wondered, sneaking to the door of Kilik's bedroom.

"Can you not hear his snores?" Maxi chuckled almost sarcastically.

Emma steadily opened the door to find that Kilik was lying flat on his bed, fast asleep. She silently skipped next to his bed and perched on the edge. Emma shook him slightly.

"Kilik. Kilik…"

A groan was heard. "Oh, it's you." Kilik smiled. "Morning, Emma." Kilik sat up and rubbed one eye. Emma gave him a good morning kiss. The couple turned around to find that both Seung-Mina and Maxi were watching them both from the door, with their arms folded and smirking. Emma couldn't help but smile as well, tilting her head to one side.

"Do you mind…?" Emma half laughed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. Seung-Mina and Maxi walked out of the room, both of them cracking up. Emma shook her head disapprovingly. She turned back to Kilik, who was half out of bed, sitting on the edge of it. She then realised why they found it so amusing: he was topless, but luckily he still had his trousers on.

"Come on, slowcoach, we are all ready!" Emma smiled to herself, walking out of the room, closing the door behind her. She felt the warmth in her cheeks again, subconsciously touching her face with one hand. Why was she blushing so much?

As soon as Kilik was all ready, the team set off, to find a lead to Soul Edge. The inn was still empty. In fact, the whole village was completely deserted.

"Maybe the Azure Knight was near here and they had to evacuate." Kilik pondered, stepping out into the open, observing the village. Emma started to head up the path out of the village.

"We have to keep moving if we are going to find Soul Edge." Emma commanded, waving her hand forward. Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi followed loyally behind her, weapons in hand, armour gleaming in the sunlight. Emma felt Soul Edge was out there, she just needed to find it. The team spent hours travelling across Japan by foot; however they couldn't find a single person. It was almost like the population of Japan has been wiped out. They stopped at their fourth village, shattered.

"What has the Azure Knight done…?" Maxi murmured. The warriors had searched that entire village, however there wasn't a soul. Finally, there was a glint of hope.

There was only one person, which looked like a woman, wearing a hooded cloak. She turned around for a second; quickly revealing what looked like a red body suit underneath, but masked it with her cloak again and walked off.

Seeming slightly suspicious, Maxi whispered, "Do you know who she is too?"

"I might do if she wasn't wearing that cloak." Emma muttered back. Kilik let Emma down from his arms before Emma began to slowly approaching her. Slightly cautious, the other three followed behind her, but kept their distance. The masked woman was facing away from them, her back completely straight. Suddenly, the lady spoke.

"What type of demon are you?" She asked with a deep voice, her back still facing her.

"I'm not a demon." Emma replied softly. A demon hunter, Emma thought, I am really lucky, to run into so many people in one adventure. The lady gradually turned her head around, just looking over her shoulder.

"No angel would want to make another Soul Edge." She spoke with the same tone, turning around, still wearing the hood over her head. She definitely wore a red body suit, with brown, shin length boots on her feet, and dark brown, fingerless gloves. The hood covered her eyes, but you can see her nose and mouth, which a glossy black mask covered.

"I am making Soul Calibur, a sword for justice, not evil. You haven't seen the Azure Knight in Japan, have you Taki?" Emma smiled, loving the reactions on people's faces when they hear her speak their names. She lifted the hood away from her face, revealing her black hair, which was tied into a short ponytail. She removed her mask, uncovering her smile. Taki accepted that she was an angel and not a demon, and answered her question.

"I have been searching for days, but there is no sign of him. I have heard rumours that he has travelled back to Europe, through the Newfoundland."

"Thank you for the help, Taki." Emma was grateful for her assistance. "Is there anyway I could help you?"

"Yes, I've also been looking for Mitsurugi; you haven't seen him around have you?"

"Last time I saw him, he was in a pagoda a few miles back from here; he just kidnapped me last night." Emma replied, talking about the matter coolly. Taki unsheathed two short swords, which were hidden behind her cloak, Rekki-Maru and Mekki-Maru.

"Looks like he never learns. Thank you, spirit warrior, good luck on your quest." Before Emma had time to blink, Taki leaped up, seemingly vanishing out of sight. Emma smiled, and turned around to her bemused team mates.

"Who was that?" Seung-Mina wondered aloud.

"There is a slight change in plan. The Azure Knight has apparently travelled to Europe. We will have to go in the opposite direction if we are ever going to catch up to him." Emma directed, seeming to avoid Seung-Mina's question.

Maxi groaned. "Are you serious? How would she know where the Azure Knight is?"

"She is a ninja, and she is also after Soul Edge."

"We are meeting so many people who are part of the connection to Soul Edge." Seung-Mina commented, slightly apprehensive.

"Many other warriors are after Soul Edge too; these are only few of them. Many warriors would take the same path if they want to achieve the same goal." Emma liked to go into Edge Master Mode when she was stating the facts. She led her team backward down the path where they had travelled, miles back to the first village. It was twilight, the stars just beginning to emerge once again. She led the team back down the puddle ridden forest path back to the docks. Maxi had decided he would rather waste no more time in Japan and stay on the ship to rest, then set sail immediately in the morning.

Whilst they were walking, an eccentric looking man approached them. He was quite short, and he wore a bizarre, gold and white mask on his face, and dark green attire. His right arm didn't appear to be even human; it seemed almost wooden, perhaps even robotic. Attached to his back was a large flag with Japanese symbols. He wore a belt which held a sword, which looked like another katana. Kilik growled.

"It's that meddling samurai again!" Kilik clutched his Kali-Yuga and the rest drew their weapons, except Emma, who stopped them from attacking the poor man.

"He's not Mitsurugi. Look at his right arm." Emma proved them wrong by walking up to him. She could remember this strange man was the leader of a wandering group of people called the Manji clan, which looked a lot like him. He has a katana like Mitsurugi, but a completely different style to him. He can rotate his mechanical arm rapidly to make himself fly using the sword, as well as standing on its hilt, with only the tip of the blade touching the floor. He may look a bit weird, but this man has the knowledge and the skill which can almost match the Edge Master.

"Hello Yoshimistu." Emma whispered to him, lowering her head with respect.

"Greetings, young warrior of the spirits. Once one had noticed thou, one thought that thou are from the heavens. Thou have a soul which could avert the world's misfortunate death. Thou soul is vital for the legendary sword. Thou must not sacrifice thou soul. One foresees terrible misfortune if thou does not regard one's words. "

"Thank you, Yoshimistu." Emma nodded, remembering his words. She bowed with her fist in one palm, and signalled her team to follow her, allowing the wise Yoshimistu to fly away into the distance.

Emma, Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi arrived back at the boat and decided to rest for the night. Emma immediately fell asleep as soon as she fell onto her pillow.

She woke up, but not in the cabin. Damn, Emma thought, I had to wake up from the dream. She felt a tear fall on her cheek, but then realised that she wasn't in her previous life, nor in the boat. It was in the middle of nowhere, a pitch black darkness. She rose up, then suddenly two pure white candles lit up either side of her. As if like dominoes, a thousand candles started to light up in a row in front of her, trailing off into the distance. Emma started to run down the candle lit path, hoping to find her way out of the dream. The darkness started to fade into the candle light, and she found herself in a middle of nowhere again. In front of her Soul Calibur began to appear. Emma's eyes gleamed. It is so much more beautiful in real life, Emma thought, as she began to reach out for it. It disintegrated into a million tiny balls of light, and started to float around her. They began to lift her up, higher into nothing, and let her go. She was floating with her back arched, like she was in outer space. From below her, hundreds of glowing shapes began spiralling around the path she flew on, surrounding her in slow motion, what seemed to be stars were drifting through the air like they were underwater. A voice was talking to her.

"It was supposed to be me that was supposed to have created Soul Calibur, not you. You aren't even supposed to exist." Emma opened her eyes and answered the voice back. It was that same voice who envied her since the day she had met her.

"Xianghua, I'm not trying to steal your life. I wanted you to create Soul Calibur, not me. I didn't want for you to die."

"I bet you didn't want Kilik falling for you either." Xianghua's voice echoed again. "Now look at what you have done." An unconscious body of Xianghua was floating in front of her, rising higher and higher into the endless sky of nothing. "You are rewriting history. You are ruining everything. You will have to give up everything for the sword. You have to give up your soul for Soul Calibur."

Emma remembered Yoshimistu's words as they echoed the room. "Thou soul is vital for the legendary sword." It echoed, "One foresees terrible misfortune if thou does not regard one's words."

More voices started to echo around her. "I believe in you. We can travel together, and create Soul Calibur. I know we can." Kilik started to speak, immediately followed by Seung-Mina. "Then you can rewrite history in an even better way than Xianghua ever would!"

Xianghua's echoes started to protest. "You will only cause the world's destruction."

"Thou have a soul which could avert the world's misfortunate death." Yoshimistu reminded.

"All of us, together, we are helping you." Seung-Mina's words from the ship filled the atmosphere.

"You just want Kilik to love you and not me." Xianghua's growl erupted in the emptiness. "It is because of you I don't exist anymore."

"There is no need to blame yourself for her death. She was selfish and, more importantly, she was jealous of you." Kilik's warm voice contradicted.

"You wanted to replace me. And for that you will pay the price. Your soul." Xianghua's voice rumbled.

"You have just joined the connection to Soul Edge, and fixed the gap between Xianghua and the rest of us." Seung-Mina answered back, whilst Emma's remains of Soul Calibur drifted about a metre in front of her.

They started to form a shape of a girl, exactly like the one she saw from the storm the previous night. She was reaching out, for a figurative Soul Calibur, but she disintegrated like the storm, and started to gather around the light formed Soul Calibur, creating the real sword. All of the characters that were connected, from the ones she has met to the ones she hadn't, started to speak over each other. "Soul Calibur." They all said in unison. Music started to fill the air. She recognized them both as they started to play, creating a harmony, a symphony of swords. Suddenly Emma started to fall, like the anti-gravity had been switched off, further and further away from the legendary sword, into the depths of the darkness below.

Emma woke up again, in her cabin. She sighed, contemplating about her unusual dream, immediately sitting up and shaking her head. I can't tell Kilik about it though, he would get worried, Emma thought. She strolled out of her cabin room, slipping on her shoes before she did, and walked out onto the deck. It was the middle of the night, the crescent moon high in the cloudless sky. She didn't feel sleepy at all. Walking towards the front of the boat, she watched the murky waves lap over each other, the sound of the water washing over the boat filling the silence. She lowered her head. What have I done? Emma thought, constantly reminded of Xianghua. I have destroyed history, Emma could only think. She was replacing Xianghua, and all she could think of was the fact she was a fraud, living her life for her.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Emma looked down, and knew who it was. His head rested on her shoulder.

"Hey, Kilik."

"Are you ok?" he immediately asked, looking out to the ocean with her. "Is something bothering you?"

Emma sighed. Kilik was reading her thoughts like a book.

"It's Soul Calibur isn't it?" Kilik hugged her tighter. "What did that man say? What was his name?"

"Yoshimistu. He said I was vital for Soul Calibur. He said I couldn't give up my soul to anything else or terrible things would happen."

"He probably meant it as you are supposed to create Soul Calibur."

"That is what I originally thought. Then as soon as Yoshimistu said that, I thought differently.

_A/N: So it was Mitsurugi! Shock horror! And by the way, the dream was in fact based on a dream I actually had. Only I made it sound cool. And now do you see why I found the title so amazing? Yes? Good. Now review. (lol, if you want to that is ;D) _


	7. Infernal Offering

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Ok, so Emma is back, safe and sound. And they realised that they had been travelling the wrong way! Argh, damn. (Thanks to Taki, they are back on track!) To the next chapter!_

Chapter 7: Infernal Offering

The next morning, Emma woke up in her cabin, the boat slightly bobbing up and down. Yawning, she went up onto the deck, leaving her weapons. The dream made her think in her sleep, even after the talk with Kilik. What did Yoshimistu mean?

Seung-Mina, Kilik and Maxi were already up before her, to Emma's surprise, as she is the one who usually is jumping about earliest. During her absence Maxi had already mapped a route and started to set sail.

"We are heading towards India to rest for tonight, and then we are heading straight to Greece to dock." Kilik began to explain as Emma sat down on the mast's base again, "We will have to travel to the Azure Knight's current location by foot from there."

"Ostrheinsburg." Emma immediately mumbled. "He is heading to Ostrheinsburg."

Seung-Mina, who was over hearing the conversation, decided to join in herself. "Where is that?" she asked, swinging rope about carelessly.

"The Holy Roman Empire," Emma began, "or as I like to call it, Germany. It is in the northern region of Europe. I'm afraid we have to walk a long way."

Seung-Mina sighed heavily. "Let's hope the Azure Knight changes direction by the time we get to Greece."

Hours of voyaging past and the four warriors reached a port roughly halfway in India. Emma was breathing in the smell of her new surroundings. There was a spice market nearby, bustling with native habitants, trading goods. Many boats were docked at the port, creating a livelier feel to it, much unlike the Japanese port, which was practically deserted. The sun was low in the sky, painting it an amber orange, light reflecting off the warm ocean like diamonds. Seung-Mina and Emma were quite impressed; however Maxi and Kilik had a more concerned look on their faces. Emma, noticing their solemn expressions, asked them what was wrong.

"This is the port I told you about before." Kilik whispered in her ear.

Emma's face dropped. "You mean, the port where Astaroth-"

"Yes." Maxi interfered, jumping down from the boat and surveying the village.

"Why did you even come here if you knew that-?"

Before Emma could even finish her sentence, a high pitched, female scream echoed from the far end of the spice market. In a blink of an eye, the whole of the marketplace was wrecked and chaos was created. The cause of the havoc was a giant creature almost twice the size of Maxi, its skin a russet brown. The creature's face was veiled by an executioner's mask, only revealing his glowing yellow eyes and forehead. The creature was wielding an axe approximately the same height as him, its surface like the crust of a volcano, with a blade the length of his shoulder span. In its chest was a glowing ball of red energy, secured in place by heavy metal chains criss-crossing across the upper part of its body. The creature instantly spotted the warriors from metres away, and began charging violently towards them. Kilik, Emma and Seung-Mina were still on the boat, pleading Maxi to board the ship; however, he wasn't even blinking. Maxi whipped out his nunchaku and started to twirl it about, cracking his neck as he did.

"So you think you can defeat me again, after what you did to my brother?" Maxi muttered boldly, as the creature slowed down observing his ship.

"Back again, maggot?" Astaroth roared, slamming the hilt of his axe down, making the port tremor. "I will crush the life out of you!"

"Not if we can help it!" Seung-Mina growled, tightening her fists.

"Then I will destroy you all! Let me hear you scream!" Astaroth bellowed to them, hunching his shoulders whilst turning to Maxi, raising his axe. "And you!"

Astaroth started to swing his axe around him like a lasso, the flat side of his axe smacking Maxi into the air, causing him to crash deep into the floorboards of his ship. "Go to hell!"

As soon as the golem's words echoed the port, lizards the size of men appeared from nowhere and started to invade the ship, whilst Astaroth watched and laughed maliciously, hurtling onto the ship himself. The lizard-men were each wielding a small hatchet and a shield, their thick, moss green scales protected with some armour. Emma, Kilik and Seung-Mina were left defenceless as their weapons were in their cabins, forced to fight off the lizard-men with their bare hands. Astaroth decided to take advantage of the situation.

Astaroth faced Kilik, stomping towards them, barging past anyone in his way, even his own henchmen, whilst howling, "That sane necklace needs to be destroyed, you worm!" Kilik tried to resist him; however the golem managed to tear the Dvapara-Yuga shard off his neck, causing Kilik's eyes to glow bright orange.

"NO!" Emma, Maxi and Seung-Mina cried simultaneously, as Astaroth flung the necklace into the sea. Following the devastated look on Emma's face and the worrying effect on Kilik, Seung-Mina dived off the ship into the warm waters, searching for the necklace. Maxi struggled to help Emma, as he was bombarded by lizard-men, surrounding every angle. Kilik began to approach Emma, his muscles tense, eyes glaring menacingly at her, never blinking. Emma started to back away slowly, avoiding the occasional lizard crawling across the deck of the ship.

"Kilik, um…" Emma tried to reason. She didn't know what to say. The person who loved her was now close to killing her. "Ugh." Emma's back collided with the mast, reaching a dead end. She was surrounded by blood thirsty lizards, and a murderous Kilik. Emma frantically turned to Maxi, who was restrained by more lizards. One of them was bending his nunchaku. Great, Emma thought.

Kilik grabbed Emma's arm, his grip constricting her blood flow. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but only resulted in her whole body hurled towards the back of the ship like a rag doll. Dazed, Emma swiftly rose up to her feet, realising that he was after her again. She attempted to use her powers to stop him. She held her left hand upwards, creating a small ball of blue light, and shot it at him, however it had no effect whatsoever. Great, my powers are weakening, Emma thought. Looking upwards, Emma leaped up onto the back of a lizard, using it as a springboard to get to the top of the mast. She turned behind her to find that Kilik was climbing up the mast, clawing his hands at her feet. Losing balance, Emma plunged down into the solid decking, creating a 'splash' of splinters and wooden shards. Kilik was towering over her, blocking the sunlight so only his silhouette and his glowing eyes were seen. He viciously grabbed her by the neck and held her up, choking her.

"Kilik, ack… please!" Emma begged, trying to release his grip, her legs dangling in the air. Kilik's mouth twitched slightly. He loosened his hand, causing Emma to crash into the floorboards again. A splutter came from the end of the boat. Seung-Mina jumped from lizard to lizard like stepping stones, and hurtled towards Kilik. She flung one arm around his neck tightly and forced the necklace on him. Just in case, she remained strangling him. Kilik's orange eyes faded to his natural colour again.

"Wha… what happened?" Kilik's eyes widened. He realised he lost his sanity when he saw Emma indented into the deck of the ship, half beaten up and Seung-Mina strangling him, dripping wet.

Astaroth was disappointed that the show ended. He grabbed Emma by the back of her dress. "You were about to kill this worthless cur," The golem shook Emma heartlessly, using his other beastly hand, which was holding his axe, to point at the soaked Seung-Mina, "until that pathetic worm decided to make you sane again." He slammed the blade of his axe into the dented decking, creating a giant gaping hole in the middle of the boat.

"Get off my ship, you freak!" Maxi's courageous voice roared. Astaroth merely laughed, dropping Emma to the floor again. Fury was building up inside of Maxi, and soon he flung half of the lizard-men out of his radius. Maxi was running at full throttle towards Astaroth shoulder first. With all his might, Maxi managed to overthrow Astaroth off the ship, which had drifted steadily away from the port. Maxi immediately took the wheel whilst Kilik raised the sail, as Emma and Seung-Mina were tossing lizard-men into the waters, whether they were unconscious or wriggling with life. "Until next time, you oversized scum!" Maxi laughed triumphantly, the wind strongly blowing the ship away from the port and the enraged golem.

As soon as they had created some distance, the team began to talk normally, after many victorious cheers. Seung-Mina was talking to Maxi at the front of the ship whilst Emma and Kilik remained near the back. The stars were beginning to glow upon them again.

"I was quite worried; I thought you were going to kill me!" Emma laughed it off, but Kilik was still mortified.

"I am so sorry, Emma." Kilik lowered his head in shame, holding her hand.

Emma reassured him, "It's not your fault, I told you, and it was Astaroth who pulled it off of you."

"I know, but I shouldn't have allowed him." A drop of water fell onto his shirt. "I'm sorry."

Emma wiped his eyes with the back of her hand, sitting on his lap. "It's fine, you didn't mean for it to happen." He wrapped his arms around her, as she hugged him.

"Maxi, you haven't had any rest from sailing. Are you sure you don't want to stop?" Seung-Mina asked him for the third time, with only the same answer.

"I told you, I am completely fine, Mina." Maxi insisted, continuing to look ahead. "Now, which one of you two lovebirds is going to pay for the damage of my ship?" Maxi joked, however Kilik and Emma were much more serious.

"I am so sorry, Maxi!" Emma exclaimed suddenly, completely forgetting about the massive crater in the middle of the deck. "How could we ever repay you?"

"It's ok, Emma, don't panic. I was joking." Maxi chuckled to himself.

"It's his fault after all…" Seung-Mina mumbled to herself, however Maxi spotted the cheekiness.  
>"Excuse me?" Maxi coughed.<p>

"Well, if you had listened to us in the first place, maybe this wouldn't have happened!" Seung-Mina laughed, however Maxi was unconvinced. Predicting what would happen next, Emma went down into the cabins to check the damage.

"And what did you say which would prevent this from happening?" Maxi creased his eyebrows.  
>"We were all practically screaming 'Get on the ship!' when that monster was heading straight for us, but you responded like a brick!" Seung-Mina sarcastically smiled. The quarrel went on for a while, whilst Kilik was sitting with his head in his hands.<p>

"Kill. Me. Now." Kilik groaned. Emma emerged from the crater, with all their weapons, her swords in their holders on her back, Kilik's rod and Seung-Mina's halberd in each hand.

"It isn't that bad. Think of it like a new way in and out of the cabins." Emma laughed. After throwing their weapons to them, she picked up Maxi's nunchaku, which one of the lizards dropped.

"Just in case we get attacked again." She warned, pointing one end on Maxi's nunchaku at each of them before handing it back to its owner. In cue to what she had said, the boat rocked for a second, knocking over a few boxes.

"Sorry, that was me." Maxi apologized shortly after. Emma and Kilik started to pick up the boxes with its spilled contents, until Emma laughed.

"You have hats!" Emma beamed, putting on a navy blue, musketeer hat, with a light blue feather prodding out of it, which matched her dress and her sword holder perfectly.

"Some hat trader left it on my father's ship years ago and never came back," Maxi began to explain, "My father gave it to me as a gift, I suppose."

Seung-Mina decided to join in and foraged through the pile of hats. She giggled, pulling out an emerald green bandana.

"This looks like Yun-Seong's bandana he showed me last time we ran into each other."

"Who's Yun-Seong?" Kilik pondered, whilst examining a black, pirate's hat.

"He's like my little brother. We grew up together, but we aren't related." Seung-Mina clarified, dropping the bandana back and picking up another hat.

"So like… your sworn brother?" Kilik started to make some links.

Seung-Mina scratched her head. "I suppose. I've never thought of it like that."

Maxi turned to them. Hearing the words 'sworn brother' got him interested. "I had a sworn brother once."

"_Had_ a sworn brother?" Seung-Mina questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"He was killed by that meddling, merciless, monstrous golem." Maxi's grip on the wheel tightened. "It was my entire fault."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Maxi. At least you didn't kill him yourself." Kilik justified, "I was forced to kill my sworn sister in self defence; that was my fault. The Evil Seed was affecting her."

"Wait a minute." Maxi thought aloud. "Both Kilik and I blame ourselves for the death of our sworn siblings. And we just discovered that Mina has a sworn brother…" He flinched.

"Yun-Seong is going to get killed and it would be my fault?" Seung-Mina looked horrified.

"Yun-Seong isn't going to get killed. It isn't his fate." Emma reassured, remembering his life line. She rose up and watched out onto the sea. It was about midnight, and a heavy fog was shrouding the horizon. Maxi was struggling to see where he was going, and the team were on the watch with him, by Emma's orders.

"We can't sleep. We have to stay here just in case something happens." Emma had said, whilst rearranging the hat she was still wearing.

Emma was on guard near the front of the boat, whilst Kilik and Seung-Mina were watching the back. Emma noticed a shape in the distance, of what seemed to be another boat. Materializing from the fog, it was a ship three times the size of their boat, with three masts and sails, and a lot more people.

_A/N: Ok, so Astaroth trashed Maxi's boat. Shame they don't have compensation back in the 16th century. And yes, I'm wearing a hat. Hat's are cool. Now, is that ship in the distance innocent or do I sense a cannon ball blowing off..._


	8. Castaway Into Darkness

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Ships crossing paths! Night-time! Fog! Feather encrusted hats! No, its not Pirates of the Carribean, its chapter 8. _

Chapter 8: Castaway into Darkness

"How are they getting through the fog so easily?" Maxi muttered, trying to read the name of the ship. "The… it begins with 'A'. I cant read the rest."

"The Adrian…!" Emma gasped. "Quick, Maxi, get us away from that ship now!" Emma shouted, waving her arms about, her eyes fixed onto the other ship.

"Why?" Maxi yelled back.

"That's CERVANTES' SHIP!" Emma screamed, causing Kilik and Seung-Mina to panic too. Emma forgot that she had only told Kilik and Seung-Mina about Cervantes because Maxi was asleep. Emma assumed he knew because he was a pirate himself. Not a Cervantes sort of pirate, but a freelance pirate.

A deep voice echoed from the other ship, "Avast ye! Scuttle n' run a shot across the bow!" it said as Emma unsheathed both of her swords.

"Was that… Cervantes?" Kilik stuttered before a cannon ball was fired into the sea metres away from their boat, creating an explosion of sea water which almost sunk their ship.

"We have to get on the other ship." Emma muttered. "They are going to sink us!"

The two vessels met, each floating on either side of each other. Maxi's boat looked like a flea in comparison to the other ship. There were about forty people on board, all of which were very pale, almost like ghosts. A man barged through the crowd, two thick swords in each hand. He was equipped with a white shirt, a dark purple waistcoat, black slacks and a long, black cloak. His hat was a deep plum colour, shaped like a pirate hat, with an eye emblazoned on it. His long, straight, wispy hair was pure white, covering his ears. He had a moustache and a short beard, sandwiching a sinister grin. His skin was a very pale lilac.

"Where be your captain?" the pirate growled.

"We have no captain." Emma shouted back, lifting her hat up. His attention was directed to her, and he chuckled obnoxiously. "So ye be that angel that knows of us all."

"Yes I am." Emma's grip on her blades tightened. "How do you know of me?"

Cervantes roared with laughter. "Every buccaneer n' landlubber know of your existence." He snarled. "Take her!" Cervantes commanded, pointing his sword at Emma. Half of the men immediately started to attack the boat, four of them using ropes, swinging down from the other ship.

"Not if we can help it!" Kilik howled with ferocity, striking down the undead crew. Maxi let go of the wheel, after being clobbered by ghostly pirates too. Seung-Mina was flinging them overboard, whilst Emma slashed down around five of them before looking up at the ropes, which were tangled into the netting near the top of the mast. Putting her swords away, Emma immediately started to scale the mast, ducking the occasional cutlass thrown in her direction.

"I said take her, not kill her, you bumbling buffoons, before I turn the lot of you into shark bait!" Cervantes roared, raising his swords.

Emma grabbed a rope, feeling the temptation to be a pirate for the day. I have a hat, Emma reasoned with herself, as she detangled the rope from the net, holding it with one hand, using her feet as support. Emma launched away from the mast, swinging rapidly across the wide gap between the two vessels. She heard cries of fear as she reached the peak of the swing, somersaulting into the salty air. Catching another rope, she landed gracefully on the side of a mast on Cervantes' ship, leaning on it like she did on Maxi's boat. She let go of one hand and boldly smiled.

"Ha. I'm no damsel in distress." Emma smirked, unsheathing her Northern Star. She faced the other boat, where her friends were still battling the last of the pirates who had raided Maxi's boat. They caught her eye before she told them to swing across too, pointing at the ropes. The trio nodded, finishing off the last of the meddling crew.

Emma leaped off the rope, brushing away the curtain of hair strands from her face, glaring at Cervantes.

"Why do you want to take me captive?" Emma snarled gallantly, removing Krita-Yuga from its holder and pointing Northern Star at him. "You want another soul for your own benefit?"

"You hold power in that there sword of yours." Cervantes glared at Krita-Yuga. "You also have such a strong soul, worth thousands of landlubbers' weak, feeble souls. Your spirit will make me as strong as I was with Soul Edge in my hands."

"My sword and I aren't for the taking." Emma smiled fearlessly. Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi finally wiped out the remainder of the raiders, and they swung across in synchronisation, all of them gambolling into the atmosphere, landing on the deck with weapons drawn. They looked at each other momentarily before stampeding towards the crew aboard the Adrian.

Emma began to charge towards Cervantes, who held his swords in a cross in front of his chest, before raising the larger of the swords above his head, bringing his right foot behind him, so his shoulder was facing her. Emma leaped into the air, both swords above her head, striking it downwards, only to be blocked by Cervantes' cross shaped guard. She slashed her swords at him one at a time, however he blocked them all. Cervantes swung the larger of the swords in an arc, just missing Emma's neck by a few centimetres. If Emma didn't lean back in time, she would have died. She cart wheeled backwards, dodging more of his resilient horizontal swipes. They both slashed their swords together at the same time, before Cervantes lifted his smaller sword towards her, pulling a trigger to reveal a hidden gun. Emma leaned sideways in time, before an eruption of wood was created behind her. Cervantes had shattered the side of his ship and didn't seem to care. Emma ran towards him with Northern Star in front of her chest, pushing it into Cervantes' sword. The force between the two swords created a few seconds to talk.

"I don't want to kill you yet, otherwise your daughter won't be able to kill you herself."

"Daughter? What merciless trickery! I have no daughter!" Cervantes growled.

Emma smirked again, forcing her sword into his, pushing him slightly backwards. "Do you not remember what you did to that innkeeper's daughter, during your rampage with Soul Edge?" Emma reminded him. Cervantes growled. She continued her story, "You have a daughter now, called Isabella Valentine. She wants you dead for many reasons. I don't want burst her bubble by killing you for her."

Cervantes roared, slashing Emma's sword away from his. "The quicker I devour your soul, the better!" He grabbed her by the waist and tossed her into the air, drawing his smaller sword again to fire at her. By luck, Emma grasped a rope as she was suspended in mid air, swinging in a wide arc around the middle mast, throwing herself towards the front of the ship. Missing his shot for the second time, Cervantes started to shout pirate's curses. He bounded towards Emma, who was waiting valiantly at the raised deck. Hurtling up onto the decking, he attempted to slash at her again, but was blocked by Emma's sword. Emma put Krita-Yuga away, using her left hand to shoot a large orb of energy at him. He swiped both of his swords forwards, causing her to step back onto the thin beam at the tip of the ship. He pushed her further back with the tip of his sword, laughing maliciously to himself.

"You have nowhere to hide now." Cervantes growled, even though Emma didn't hide at all. He stepped onto the beam himself, pointing his sword at her. "Give me your soul."

Emma remembered Yoshimistu's words: "Thou must not sacrifice thou soul." It echoed in her mind. She was determined not to give up now.

"Never in your short immortal life." Emma smirked, raising Northern Star at him.

"Then I will have to take it by force!" Cervantes snarled, his battle stance naturally keeping him balanced.

Meanwhile, Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi were surrounded by pirates in the centre of the ship, the trio's backs to each other, watching every pirate's move.

"We have to take them out!" Seung-Mina whispered to the other two. Both Kilik and Seung-Mina didn't realise how much trouble Emma was, because their backs were facing away from the front of the ship. Maxi was the only one that noticed.

"We might need to hurry this, Emma is in trouble!" Maxi mumbled.

"What do you mean, she's in trouble?" Kilik hissed at him, his eyes remained focused on the pirates, knowing it would be foolish to turn around.

"She's on the edge of the ship!" Maxi muttered impatiently. "Cervantes has her cornered!"

Kilik cursed under his breath. "Well let's kill this lot quickly!" he yelled in battle cry, swinging his rod around his segment of pirates. Seung-Mina twirled her halberd like a baton, whacking pirates out of her sight. Maxi took the pirates on one at a time, alternating between kicking them, knocking them out with his nunchaku and strangling them unconscious. Kilik and Seung-Mina turned around to the front of the ship, witnessing what Maxi had seen.

Emma was now fighting Cervantes with the one sword, almost as if she were fencing. She was parrying his blows rapidly, each clash of the swords made a split second apart from each other. Emma was attempting to keep her guard up, searching for an opening in his attacks. He was also fighting with the one sword, his other raised above him. Emma tilted her sword sideways, flat side facing her, and shoved Cervantes back onto the ship. With all her force, Emma bolted towards him, thrusting him through the barrier of the raised decking and onto the main deck below, the momentum causing Emma to fall a second after. Cervantes crashed into the floorboards, physically defeated, however his ego was barely scratched.

"Now if you don't mind, we must be on our way." Emma exhaled heavily, lifting her hat up and walking toward the side of the ship, calling the trio to follow her.

"You will regret this day for the rest of your life, the day you meddled with Cervantes de Leon!" Cervantes managed to cough as the trio swung back to the other ship with their ropes. Emma was standing on the edge of the boat, putting her swords back in its holders, and clutching a rope.

"No, you will remember this as the day you _almost_ caught me!" Emma triumphantly retorted, swinging back to Maxi's ship. She quickly gestured Maxi to go. She didn't want Cervantes to attack them again.

The four warriors remained focused on the ship and sailing away as quickly as possible until the horizon swallowed the ship out of sight. All of them sighed with relief.

"You defeated Cervantes!" Seung-Mina's face lit up with joy, "If you could defeat Cervantes… wow." Seung-Mina was speechless. During the twenty year rampage of Cervantes, only one warrior managed to break only one of his swords. Taki, the ninja Emma met in Japan, managed to defeat him temporarily, until Nightmare brought him back to life again. Emma was over flowed with happiness. Defeating Cervantes was the most unimaginable possibility to any warrior, no matter how strong they would be. She had achieved so much.

"I'm shocked too." Emma couldn't put it to words. "Thank you for helping me, all of you. If it were just me, I would have died."

"I told you that you could do it." Kilik held her hands to his heart. "We believed you could." He kissed her on the lips softly, before gazing into her eyes again, until Maxi had to break the sweet moment with another one of his witty comments.

"You were quite the buccaneer, weren't you?" he chuckled, aiming the comment at Emma, who burst out laughing.

"Aye, I am a pirate at heart." Emma tried her best Cervantes accent.

Seung-Mina giggled. "It's true though, you were feeling adventurous all of a sudden." Her chirpy expression faded into a concerned look. "Although, I was worried when you first swung over to the other ship. I thought you was going to fall!"

"I was tempted." Emma confessed, taking off her hat. "I wanted to know what it felt like to be a _moral_ pirate." She sighed, tossing the hat back into the hat box. She sat down, rearranging her hair.

"I have to say, it was pretty cool." Maxi smirked. "You taking down Cervantes like that."

"It was amazing." Kilik stated, sitting Emma on his lap. She leaned into his chest, whilst he wrapped an arm around her. She yawned.

"It was a short lived dream." Emma laughed half-heartedly, yawning whilst she had said it.

"I was wondering… what did you say to Cervantes to make him mad?" Maxi pondered, remembering how loud Cervantes shouted curses at her.

"I told him the truth, simple as." Emma shrugged. "He has a daughter."

"Daughter?" Seung-Mina exclaimed, clenching her fists.

"She isn't evil. She is good. She wants Cervantes dead." Emma smiled weakly. There was silence for a few moments, and then Maxi decided to open his mouth.

"Wow. They have some serious family issues." He laughed, trying to break the awkwardness. "Land ho!" he shouted, pointing at a blob of land on the horizon.

Emma sighed with relief. She was exhausted. None of them had much sleep.

They finally felt land beneath their feet once again. The harbour was dotted with pale trees, baring black olives. We're in Greece, Emma thought, picking one olive and then letting it drop. They were nowhere near any village with a place to stay, so the warriors had to walk for hours on end, watching the sun rise above them, until they reached a sign. 'Athens' it said in fancy, capital letters.

"I know someone, a warrior who lives here." Emma mumbled. "She might be able to let us stay here."

"Where can we find her?" Kilik groaned. They couldn't even speak from fatigue.

"Eurydice Shrine." Emma smiled, pointing to a white, marble temple in the distance.

Travelling through the cobbled streets of Athens, they made their way towards the shrine. The Mediterranean heat was getting to them as they clambered up the long, stone steps to the sacred Greek shrine. It was built on one of the highest hills in Greece, Emma thought, looking out into the distance. They entered the temple; its floor made from mosaic. It was patterned with statues, of what seemed to be Greek gods and goddesses, chiselled to perfection. The ceiling had a large skylight, which was making the sun shine down on a statue, which was than the rest. It held a hammer in its hand, and a large sword in the other. Kneeling in front of this statue was a woman, with a small sword and a blue and gold shield next to her.

_A/N: Yes, I felt an adrenelin rush when I wrote this, whilst listening to 'He's a Pirate' on full blast. Review if you must..._


	9. Wings Of Faith

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) So, I defeated Cervantes. Must have been some sort of fluke... Anyways, read on! (if you are still reading...)_

Chapter 9: Wings Of Faith

"Hephaestus." The woman started to say, "Forgive me."

Kilik, Maxi and Seung-Mina started to get slightly worried, however Emma was completely fine. She stepped forward for a second.

"Sophitia." Emma whispered. The woman immediately leapt up, her sword and shield in her hands, but she lowered them as she realised they weren't a threat.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness, I got a bit startled." The woman lowered her head, bringing her hands together in front of her lap. She wore a dark blue tunic, with a white cotton skirt, separated by a brown leather belt. She wore long, brown boots that were up to her thighs, her golden hair tied in a thick plait, secured with a blue ribbon. The woman smiled. "Are you… the angel that the gods speak of?"

Maxi smirked, covering his mouth with his hand. "Even the almighty Greek gods speak about her." Seung-Mina elbowed him in the rib, disguising it with a fake smile.

Emma nodded as the woman's face lit up with happiness.

"The gods told me about you. You must rest, you and your friends look exhausted." She said to Emma as she led them out of the temple, and back down the steps. They arrived at what seemed to be a town square, with a fountain in the centre. The woman led them to a small house, framed with wood. Her house was very small, with stairs right in front of the doorway, and a thin corridor which led to a dining room with a kitchen. Its cosy, Emma thought.

"Please, sit down." The woman smiled, whilst getting some plates out of a cupboard.

"I apologise, I didn't introduce myself properly to you. My name is Sophitia Alexandra."

"Hello, I'm Seung-Mina." Seung-Mina waved cheerfully, "But you can call me Mina."

"Maxi." Maxi nodded, saluting quickly.

"Kilik." Kilik greeted quietly.

"I'm Emma." Emma beamed. "Pleasure to be in the presence of the warrior who defeated the one half of Soul Edge."

Sophitia's eyes sparkled. "I am more grateful for your existence. The world has been blessed now you have arrived."

"Thank you, Sophitia." Emma sighed as she sat down, along with the exhausted trio. Sophitia had prepared some chicken for them, with bread, cheese, and olives. She was about to sit down herself, until there was a knock at the door. It was a man, with curly brown hair, his skin flushed with red.

"Rothion! You are back home." Sophitia hugged him and dragged him inside. "You must meet my guests."

"I didn't know we have guests." Rothion chuckled, raising his eyebrows in slight surprise when he saw the four warriors.

"Everyone, you must meet my husband, Rothion." She smiled, patting him on the chest. "We had gotten married a few years ago."

Rothion greeted them all, before turning back to Sophitia. "Sophitia, I only came back to get your sword and shield to fix."

"No, you can do that later." Sophitia laughed, pushing him to a chair. Emma couldn't help but smile. Her husband, Rothion, is a blacksmith. He forges and fixes weapons, so he repairs Sophitia's every now and again.

The six of them gathered around the table, dining on the food Sophitia had made. Sophitia couldn't help but ask of Emma's adventures, and Emma retold them all graciously. Kilik and Seung-Mina added what they could to the summary, whilst Maxi pulled a joke every now and again.

"You defeated Cervantes?" Sophitia's jaw dropped. They all erupted with laughter, including Sophitia herself. Emma lowered her head slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"She was amazing!" Seung-Mina boasted for Emma, loving the gossip. "She wiped out Cervantes!"

"Well, you three wiped out the crew…" Emma complimented them, quite modestly.

Maxi clicked his fingers and groaned. "We should have taken his ship!" The six burst into laughter again.

Emma decided to divert the topic to Sophitia's feats, after she had finished telling hers. Sophitia told them that she had broken Cervantes' smaller sword when he was the host to Soul Edge, but a ninja saved her and brought her back to Greece.

"We met Taki a few days back." Emma commented, adding to Sophitia's amazement.

She continued her story, saying that she had met Rothion, and decided to get married.

"This reminds me, I have some good news, Rothion." Sophitia smiled, holding her stomach. "I'm with child." The four warriors clapped, until Seung-Mina grinned.

"Tell Sophitia about her child!" Seung-Mina was literally jumping on her seat. Emma raised an eyebrow at her, laughing under her breath.

"It is a girl." Emma whispered publicly, so every one could hear.

"But what do we name her?" Sophitia put her hand to her chest and looked ahead of them, deep in thought.

Emma murmured, "Pyrrha. She is called Pyrrha."

Sophitia and Rothion nodded in agreement. "Pyrrha." They both muttered in unison.

There was another knock at the door, followed by an irritated voice.

"Sophitia! I have been looking every where for you! Open the door right now!" a girlish voice shouted as she tapped at the door numerous times. Sophitia slowly started to get up, however Rothion told her to sit down as he opened the door himself. Marching through the door was a woman, wearing a white dress with a blue stripe down the middle, tied by a thick brown belt around her stomach. She wore pink bows on the collar and sleeves of her dress, and dark brown pantyhose underneath. She wore long, white, arm length gloves, and short white boots on her feet. She had short blonde hair, slightly lighter than Sophitia's, secured with a hair band. Her facial expression switched from annoyance to delight when she saw the six at the table.

"Who are your guests?" she enquired sweetly, surveying the four warriors.

"This is Mina, Maxi, Kilik and Emma." Sophitia introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Cassandra." Emma greeted her. She slightly hoped for everyone's usual reaction whenever she said their name for the first time, however Cassandra didn't seem fazed at all. All she did was raise her eyebrows at her, and slowly nodded.

"You must be that angel that Sophitia was on about the other day!" Cassandra figured out, holding her hand out to her. "Cassandra Alexandra. Nice to meet you!" Emma and Cassandra shook hands, whilst Sophitia explained who she was.

"This is my younger sister." Sophitia shrugged slightly. Cassandra turned back to Sophitia and put her hands on her hips.

"Sophitia. Rothion just told me as I came in that you are having a baby?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. A girl, named Pyrrha." Sophitia mumbled, her cheeks going slightly pink. Emma concluded that the Alexandra sisters had completely different personalities. Sophitia was more reserved and calm; on the other hand Cassandra was more talkative and confident.

"Why didn't you tell me? You named her and everything!" Cassandra sighed heavily. "How did you even know it was a girl?" Everyone shot a look at Emma, who sighed too. They always have to do that, Emma thought.

"Cassandra, please, you are disturbing our guests." Sophitia reasoned, pointing to a stool in which Cassandra would sit on. Cassandra stared at Sophitia's weapons at looked at her with suspicion.

"You can't go after Soul Edge in your condition, Soph." Cassandra told her as she helped herself to a bowl of olives in the kitchen area, before sitting down on the stool.

Emma agreed.

After an hour of eating and talking, Sophitia ushered the four guests to a spare room, with four beds. She smiled with satisfaction, as there was enough space for them. The four all collapsed onto the beds after placing their weapons and armour aside, falling to sleep immediately. Several hours later, the warriors woke up, feeling refreshed. They could not sleep anymore. Seung-Mina looked at her weapon and smiled.

"My Scarlet Thunder has been repaired!" Seung-Mina smiled, glancing at her reflection on the blade of her weapon. The other three held up their weapons, the smiles spreading contagiously. Kilik, Seung-Mina and Maxi's weapons were polished, Seung-Mina's blade repaired. Emma's swords were polished and repaired too, the stains and scratches completely gone.

"Rothion must have repaired it for us." Emma whispered. They decided to go and thank them, going downstairs. They find Sophitia, Rothion, and Cassandra in the dining room, generally talking. The family suddenly stopped talking when the warriors entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt you." Emma lowered her head in courteousness. "We would like to thank you for your generosity."  
>Sophitia smiled happily. "No, we thank you, for blessing us all."<p>

"In token of thanks, we would like to give you a present for your child." Emma beamed, whilst the bemused trio watched her, in curiosity. She held her hands out in front of her, closing her eyes. A tiny orb of energy emerged, revealing a lilac ribbon hair piece inside. All of them looked amazed as Emma let the orb float into Sophitia's hands, the energy disappearing as soon as it touched her hands.

"Thank you, Emma." Sophitia shed a tear.

The Alexandra family bid them farewell, as the four warriors head off, out of Athens, and onto the path to Soul Edge. Leaving Greece, the four warriors headed towards the borderlines of Italy. No sign of a nearby town, Kilik found a small cave where they decided to stay. Kilik and Maxi were elected to find firewood, whilst Emma and Seung-Mina stayed in the cave, awaiting their arrival.

"When did they say they were going to be back again?" Seung-Mina whispered nervously, curling up into a ball on the smooth floor, hugging her knees and leaning against the damp cave wall behind her.

"They said they would be back soon. Don't worry, Mina, you and I are strong. We won't let anything happen." Emma reassured, curling up against the wall herself.

"I hope so!" Seung-Mina laughed anxiously, twiddling with her Scarlet Thunder.

Almost an hour past, and Kilik and Maxi still haven't returned with the fire wood. Seung-Mina and Emma were starting to get worried. They decided to go and find them. Carefully climbing down the unstable cliff path, Seung-Mina and Emma searched for the pair of men. They searched everywhere, under every rock, behind every tree, in every stream but they couldn't find them. Sighing, Seung-Mina and Emma decided to return to the cave, praying that the boys were there waiting for them. To their luck, they didn't find them. Speculating about what could have happened to them, the two girls were about to sit down, when suddenly a voice was heard.

"Emma! Mina!" a male voice echoed from deep within the caves, followed by a deep, female laugh. The laugh was classy, seemingly satisfied. What seemed to be parts of metal were heard clashing, colliding each other. Another male voice was heard.

"Argh, get off me, you barely clothed freak!" it yelled furiously. The puzzle was fitting together: clinks of metal, classy laugh, barely any clothes...

"IVY! I SWEAR TO GOD YOU ARE GOING TO BE DEAD!" Emma roared at the darkness, unsheathing her swords and charging into the depths of the cave, followed by Seung-Mina who realised that Kilik and Maxi were the ones needing their help.

_A/N: Sophitia is with child already! (Yes, I know Rothion and Sophitia just get married in Soul Calibur 1, but I wanted to give Pyrrha that little ribbon thing she is going to have in Soul Calibur V.) Now onto Ivy torturing Kilik and Maxi- in the next chapter!_


	10. Unblessed Soul

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) So Ivy is torturing the boys! Time for our two favourite girls to kick some Ivy arse._

Chapter 10: Unblessed Soul

Emma and Seung-Mina was on the pursuit of the voice, travelling further and further into the seemingly endless cave. Emma was cursing her whole body off at Ivy, whilst Seung-Mina was merely trying to save her friends.

"I swear, Ivy, if you ever touch Kilik, I swear to God I will… crush your soul!" Emma couldn't exactly kill her. She will definitely mess up time then… she will simply have to punish her: severely.

"What about Maxi?" Seung-Mina shouted at Emma, who had completely forgotten about her nunchaku smacking friend.

"Oh, and Maxi too!" Emma added, sounding as if she was going to crush Maxi's soul as well. "You will truly pay for- AHHH!"

The sound of the girls screams echoed the cave. There was a sudden drop, disguised by the darkness, which Seung-Mina and Emma didn't notice at all as they were focusing straight ahead of them.

Falling twenty feet under, Seung-Mina and Emma find themselves in a large, circular, underground room, lit by flaming torches, the floor damp with moisture. Directly ahead of them were Kilik and Maxi, chained against a pillar. Emma pointed her sword at the pillar in fury.

"Show yourself, Ivy Valentine!" Emma roared at the pillar. Emerging from behind the pillar was… a man, thin purple leather tightly wrapped around his dark, grey skin, his head bald, his eyes covered by multi lens, miniature telescopes. On his hands he wore three bladed claws, 'katars', and golden armour covering his southern region. He hissed at them in answer to Emma's guess.

"Voldo?" Emma muttered in disgust. Voldo looked creepier in reality.

A laugh was heard behind the pair of confused girls. "Well aren't we cheeky."

Standing behind them, was Ivy, who was just as disturbing as Voldo was. She wore purple leather which was even thinner than Voldo's, worn much tighter, which criss-crossed over the parts that were fully necessary to be covered, revealing quite a lot of flesh, with the intention of distracting her opponents, whoever they were. She wore long, purple, high heeled boots, with chunky golden armour decently covering her left arm at least. In her right hand was a sword, which she flicked lightly, transforming the sword into a whip-like form, the parts of the sword separated along the force which made it like it was. Her short, white hair was hanging over the sides of her face, her dark red lips forming a seductive smile.

"Being raised in England in a mansion and studying alchemy, I would have expected you to dress a bit more decently, Isabella." Emma disapprovingly said to her, crossing her arms. "What have you done to my friends?"

"I was merely trying to save them, you foolish imbecile." Ivy huffed, strutting past Seung-Mina and Emma. "It is him I was trying to deal with." She growled, pointing her sword at Voldo, who only answered with a menacing hiss. Comparing the scantily clad pair next to each other, Ivy and Voldo's sense of style seemed to have been from the same source.

"Extend!" Ivy commanded to her sword, the tip of the blade shooting towards Voldo. Voldo started to crawl towards them in his usual creepy fashion, asking for a battle. Ivy's sword, Valentine, coiled into its whip like state again. Swinging Valentine over her head, she tossed it at Voldo, who bent over backwards, slowly revolving around so his head was facing them again, and rising up from the floor. Seung-Mina approached him speedily and swung her halberd around, the very flexible Voldo swaying away from her blade, avoiding them. Seung-Mina leaped into the air, somersaulting into the air with Scarlet Thunder pointing outwards. Voldo dodged this attack by bending over into a bridge, balancing his whole body from the tip of his toes and his katars. Voldo rose up, shaking his torso slightly. Growling, Voldo jabbed his katars at her, facing away from Seung-Mina, aiming at her face. After successfully blocking all of his attacks, Seung-Mina darted towards him, with the tip of her blade pointing at Voldo, stabbing him strongly in the back, causing him to fly across the pit, deep black blood splattering everywhere. Seizing the opportunity to finish Voldo off, Seung-Mina sprinted towards the seemingly lifeless Voldo. Halting a metre away, Seung-Mina lifted Scarlet Thunder over her head.

"Can you take this?" Seung-Mina yelled as she swung her halberd down onto him. Voldo rapidly blocked her attack with his katar, rising up speedily from the floor. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, balancing her stomach on the tip of his katar, making it spin around, along with Seung-Mina, who found this extremely painful; blood seeping out from her skin. Voldo hurled Seung-Mina away from him and hissed in contentment.

"Seung-Mina!" Emma yelled as she dived towards Voldo, aiming central, her swords clashing against his katars. Emma tried to knock him off guard by attacking his face, but he only flexed his spine backwards again, coiling himself in the air, into a wheel, revolving rapidly. He bounced on the floor like a rubber ball, bounding towards Emma, who was now cart-wheeling backwards. Ivy reacted just in time, attacking Voldo again with her snake sword, which was ejected from the ground, causing Voldo to soar into the moist atmosphere. Ivy used her sword to grasp him by the waist whilst he was suspended in mid air, hauling him back to her clutches. Her snake sword returned to its solid sword form, and Ivy used it normally to battle Voldo in close range.

Meanwhile, Emma was slicing open the chains that tied Kilik and Maxi to the pillar.

"What did he do? How did you get here?" Emma muttered out of irritation. She spent a long time trying to break the solid metal chains, settling on pure force rather than logic.

Kilik sighed, flexing his arms. "We fell into the pit after this fool," stares at Maxi in annoyance, "decided to venture into the caves."

"I didn't expect a giant underground money pit to be here!" Maxi mumbled sarcastically, whipping out his nunchaku.

Emma turned back around, to find Voldo on all fours on the floor, Ivy's boot digging into his back, her Valentine coiled around his neck. Ivy pulled on her sword, his neck dragged further back, until a crack was heard, in which Ivy's sword recoiled itself into its original form, releasing the agonised Voldo, who was now writhing around in pain.

Kilik, Maxi, and Emma rushed over to Seung-Mina, who was laying flat on her back, groaning.

"Ow… that Voldo… curse that spin move…" Seung-Mina mumbled in anger, trying to force herself up.

"Are you ok?" Maxi asked in a more thoughtful manner than usual. Seung-Mina winced. Her stomach was oozing with dark red blood, staining her sash, dripping onto the icy cold floor below.

Ivy smirked. "Look's like I'm the only one who is getting out of here." She flicked her sword so it made that 'clink' sound again. "Ha-ha. Goodbye." Ivy pointed Valentine to the roof, causing it to extend, attaching itself securely to the exit.

"We will tell you where Cervantes is." Emma smiled slyly, predicting a deal arising.

Emma forgot she didn't know who Cervantes was yet, as Ivy said, "Who is this you speak of?"

"Your real father, he is alive, thanks to Soul Edge. He was the previous host." Emma growled, "Count and Countess Valentine only found you when you were a baby."

Ivy's eyes gleamed for a second, and then narrowed. "How would you know where he is?"

"He attacked our ship last night. I didn't kill him completely, knowing you would want to do the honours." Emma raised her eyebrows at her. Seung-Mina, Kilik and Maxi's eyes widened at her last statement. "Get us out here, and I will tell you where Cervantes is."

"Fine then. Hop aboard, all of you. Valentine would be strong enough for us all." Ivy winked at Kilik and Maxi quickly.

"I think holding hands is sufficient, don't you?" Emma firmly interrupted, grabbing Ivy's armour hand. They had to take it in turns, as they couldn't hold their weapons. Emma grabbed Kilik's hand, and was shot up with Ivy, safely landing into the darkness of the cave. Ivy landed back into the pit, offering the remaining pair's hands. Maxi held onto Ivy, and Seung-Mina was holding the one end of Maxi's nunchaku.

As soon as they were all at the top of the cave, Ivy crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Now, where is Cervantes?" Ivy grumbled, her cold eyes staring at the four.

"He was sailing in the Mediterranean, going eastward." Emma nodded at her.

Ivy smiled maliciously. "Thank you for telling me. I was completely clueless that my true father is alive, let alone responsible for the deaths of thousands. See you around…" Ivy said in her usual seductive manner, waltzing out into the moonlight, and leaping out of their sight.

"Well, that was oddly nice." Kilik shrugged. The four warriors stared into the distance for a second, until Seung-Mina winced, holding her stomach.

"I think we should rest now." Emma suggested, assisting Seung-Mina sit down, leaning her head back on the damp cave wall.

"With that creepy thing in the pit still?" Maxi anxiously mumbled, pointing to the darkness of the cave again. "No way!"

Kilik crossed his arms, staring sternly at Maxi. "Maxi, you have to consider how injured Mina is now." He firmly said.

"No, Maxi is right. Voldo may attack us again." Seung-Mina muttered whilst cringing in pain. "We need to go."

"What about you, Mina?" Emma noted, pointing at her wound, which was dripping with blood.

Seung-Mina rose up from the cave floor steadily, lifting her head up. "I'm fine." Feeling sorry for Seung-Mina, Maxi lifted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style.

"Thank you, Maxi." Seung-Mina smiled, falling asleep.

The four warriors left the mysterious cave, journeying further north, into the outskirts of Germany. Maxi carried Seung-Mina all the way, watching her every movement, whilst Kilik and Emma watched them, hands around each others waists.

"Are you ok, Maxi?" Emma asked, noticing the way he watched Seung-Mina.

Maxi hesitated. "Yes. I'm just worried about Mina." He looked ahead of them swiftly, trying to avoid looking at the sleeping Seung-Mina.

Kilik couldn't help but ask Emma if she was ok herself. Emma nodded, unsheathing Krita-Yuga.

"We are almost there. We are one step away from creating Soul Calibur." Kilik smiled, observing the sword's glow in the pure white moonlight.

"Do you think it will work?" Maxi questioned inquisitively, gazing into the distance. They arrived on a high, rocky hill, which overlooked the mountains on the horizon and below them, painted faintly with the moonlight. The deep, mauve sky was dotted with bright stars, looking down upon the land below. Standing directly ahead of them was a castle, surrounded by a dark moat, shrouded by the shadows. A screeching roar was heard inside the castle, echoing from the walls of the mountains.

"Ostrheinsburg Castle." Emma whispered, unsheathing Northern Star, the two swords now in her hands. On her left hand, she noticed that the three stars, which appeared when she was at the temple, were now glowing white. She quickly put her hand down to her side. "We must hurry, before Nightmare gets away."

The warriors clambered down the cliff-like hill, towards the dark castle which awaited them. Seung-Mina slowly woke up from her sleep gazing up at Maxi.

"Maxi…?"

Maxi lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Seung-Mina questioned. Maxi lifted her head so it was parallel to his, their faces millimetres away from each other. He leaned into her, his lips meeting hers. Seung-Mina was shocked at first, but gradually closed her eyes, holding his head with her hand, kissing him back.

"Thank-you." Seung-Mina finally said, breaking the kiss.

"For what?" Maxi shrugged, predicting her answer.

"For not being so self- absorbent." Seung-Mina laughed, poking his chest playfully.

Maxi raised his eyebrow. "I thought you would thank me for being such a great kisser." He chuckled, looking at her stomach. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes." Seung-Mina replied with a sigh, standing up herself. Her stomach wound was dried up. Kilik and Emma slightly giggled under their breaths, before bursting into hysterical laughter. Both Maxi and Seung-Mina stared at them evilly.

"What's so funny?" Seung-Mina put her hands on her hips.

"Look who's the lovebirds now." Kilik smirked, hugging Emma. They all cracked up, before a vast thundercloud started to swallow up the stars in the distance, shrouding the sky completely, lightning erupting from its core. Another roar echoed from the castle, louder than before, as lightning struck down on the castle's highest tower.

_A/N: So it was Voldo! (gasp) Shame on him. And yes, I put Mina and Maxi together. I don't believe in the Mina/Yun Seong stuff. (He's three years younger, she treats him like a brother and he has Talim anyway... so ha.) Please review if you wish._


	11. Destiny Will Tell

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) Epic battle! Shock horrors! Legendary swords! And... me._

Chapter 11: Destiny Will Tell

The warriors arrived, after swiftly crossing the murky moat using a huge raft, at the front of the shadow ridden castle, the dark, rusty portcullis firmly closed. Kilik and Maxi used all of their strength to pull the towering portcullis open, creating a thin gap, wide enough for the two girls to roll under. After a few minutes, Kilik and Maxi managed to creep under the portcullis themselves, the portcullis slamming down behind them. Inside of the castle was a long corridor, rolled with scarlet red carpet, silver knight armour creating a barrier across the crimson walls. The warriors tore through the corridor, weapons drawn, towards an enormous walnut coloured door.

Seung-Mina and Maxi broke through the door. The room was large, the size of a royal banquet hall, lined with dark pillars across the floor, which towered to the ceiling above them. The scarlet carpet continued to another door straight ahead of them, about forty metres in front of them. Nightmare's roar echoed the hall, despite the monster not being in the room. Instead, another familiar monster stood ahead of them, smashing its axe into the ground.

"Astaroth!" Maxi growled loudly, swinging his nunchaku. He pelted towards Astaroth, using all his force, only to be wasted, as Astaroth swung his gargantuan axe, knocking Maxi to the floor behind him. Astaroth laughed menacingly.

"Maxi!" Seung-Mina yelped as Maxi was lifted up by Astaroth, by the collar of his jacket. Astaroth shoved Maxi viciously into the ground, creating a giant indent in the floor. Maxi winced.

"No, Mina, I have to deal with this on my own." Maxi snarled, right before Astaroth dragged him up again, and forced him in the floor again. "You three… go ahead."

Mina shed a tear, but nodded. Emma, Kilik and Seung-Mina were about to go ahead, but were stopped by a calm, female voice.

"This golem shall not shatter your will!" a familiar female voice proudly spoke before running past a pillar, halting near the centre of the hall.

"Sophitia?" Emma muttered in question before Astaroth roared, swinging his axe vertically behind him, towards Sophitia, who leaped serenely to the left, avoiding the blow. Another figure lurked behind the shadows of the pillars, running past Astaroth. The golem smashed the pillars with the axe, which the figure avoided, darting past the debris and next to Sophitia. She too had a sword and shield like Sophitia, but was dark green, with a bronze finish, rather than gold.

"Let's finish him, Sis!" she said in determination. Nodding at each other, Sophitia and Cassandra held their shields up and charged towards Astaroth. Astaroth swung his axe down to the floor, but managed to get it stuck, allowing the Alexandra sisters to jump onto the axe together, both soaring into the air in formation, kicking the golem powerfully in the face, before somersaulting backwards in unison. Sophitia and Cassandra both threw their shields at Astaroth's face, whacking him down to the ground, which created a sudden tremor. The two sisters both caught their shields as it came back to them, like boomerangs.

"Quick, you must hurry!" Sophitia ushered them to continue, as the sisters raised their swords again. Kilik, Emma and Seung-Mina nodded at them, thanking them quickly, rushing to the next door, into the next room, after Seung-Mina looked at Maxi, who was now standing up again.

"Be careful!" Seung-Mina called to him hurriedly, before following Kilik and Emma.

Maxi smiled at her, before facing the golem again.

"You are going down, Astaroth."

Astaroth roared with laughter. "You and your girly maggots won't be able to even make a scratch on me!"

Kilik, Emma and Seung-Mina ventured further into the castle, to the source of the roaring. They arrived inside a grand hall, almost twice the size of the previous hall, except without pillars, and were decked with chandeliers in their place. In the centre of the ceiling, was a vast, stained glass dome. A regal throne was laid straight ahead of them, in front of a stained glass window the length of the room. There was a large painting, with three, large tears cutting through the centre. All of the decorations were either destroyed or knocked over. The scarlet carpet was draped somewhat neatly across the battered floor.

"Some party they had. Hehe." Seung-Mina laughed nervously, gripping onto her halberd. Emma crept further into the room, followed by Kilik, and Seung-Mina.

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed the room. "Souls… more souls…" it said darkly, "Blood… darkness… come unto me!" it roared. The three warriors looked up then ducked straight after, glass shattering above them, showering them with pain.

A figure fell into the room, landing in front of the throne. It wore dark blue armour, and a helmet with a sharp horn, with bright yellow eyes, like a hunter's moon, glaring at them through the narrow gap of the helmet. His right arm was completely mutated, three monster like claws gripping the air. His left arm wielded a giant sword, almost the height of himself, which blinked at them. The three warriors raised their weapons at the creature, their eyes burning.

"The Azure Knight." Seung-Mina whispered in fear.

"Siegfried. Please, we mean no harm." Emma reasoned, approaching him slowly.

"You… must become power for Soul Edge." He growled, raising Soul Edge.

"Soul Edge is using you. It's manipulating you to kill everyone you lay eyes on, for itself. It will never resurrect your father."

Siegfried hesitated. Soul Edge stared at Emma, blinking once, before narrowing its eye at her. "No. You must… die. I must reclaim my soul!" Siegfried's cry was droned into Nightmare's sinister roar. "Taste… fear!"

Nightmare charged towards Emma, Soul Edge in his hand, fury burning in his eyes. He swung Soul Edge in a cross, which almost broke Emma's swords, before attempting to stab Emma in the heart. Emma leaped out of the way, almost like Sophitia avoided Astaroth previously. Kilik leaped of the fleshy edge of Soul Edge, forcing it into the ground, running across it with Kali-Yuga pointed at Nightmare's helm. With it's monstrous claws, the Azure Knight clutched the end of Kilik's rod and laughed in the same drone. Seconds later, Kilik ended up on the other side of the hall, dented into the castle wall, Kali-Yuga landing heavily next to him. Seung-Mina hurled every attack that she knew at Nightmare, scraping every inch of his armour, ignoring the wounds she received. She managed to break off his shoulder armour; however she ended up in the same position as Kilik, stuck into the wall next to him. Emma growled. She charged towards Nightmare, slide tackling him, avoiding his stab in the process. Nightmare went flying backwards, catapulting into the stain glass window behind the throne, smashing it completely. A second later, Nightmare crawled back into the room, grabbing the throne and chucking it at Emma. She somersaulted backwards, witnessing the throne shatter into pieces.

Kilik and Seung-Mina were rushing towards Nightmare immediately after the throne's destruction. Seung-Mina leaped into the air, spinning around with Scarlet Thunder outwards again, causing Nightmare to stumble towards Kilik, who struck Kali-Yuga into his left arm, causing the armour to shatter. Nightmare roared as Seung-Mina hurled him into the air, her Scarlet Thunder blazing as she somersaulted into the air, back flipping, slicing the blade of her weapon against the knight's armour, and then knocking Nightmare down to Earth again. Meanwhile, Kilik took a deep breath in, holding Kali-Yuga with both hands horizontally, then swinging it over his head, smashing it down onto the Azure Knight as Seung-Mina threw him down, creating a cloud of golden feathers, circulating around them.

"Nothing personal." Kilik shrugged, before high fiving Seung-Mina. Despite all of this, Nightmare rose up again, its eyes burning with rage.

"My servants will have to deal with you two." Nightmare growled. Through the shattered glass ceiling, two figures rocketed into the room. One was a lizard, much like the ones the warriors encountered at the Indian port, but this lizard man was much larger, and had a bigger axe and shield. The other was a familiar face, one they had encountered fairly recently…

"Ivy!" Emma snarled as she ordered her sword to seize Kilik, whilst the lizard grabbed Seung-Mina. Ivy's sword seemed different; it seemed to flow quicker, and more smoothly. It slightly glowed, and Ivy looked more impressed than before. "Lizardman?" Emma questioned, as the lizard stared at her.

"Don't move…" Ivy smiled, licking her lips. Her sword wrapped around Kilik's neck, and he was forced into Ivy backwards, his body pressing tightly against hers. Ivy used her other hand to caress his chest.

"Get off me!" Kilik snapped, trying to wriggle out of her grasp.

"Oh I don't think that would be happening." Ivy smiled, pecking him on the neck.

Seung-Mina was trapped in the lizard's claws, its axe very close to her neck. She tried to stamp on its foot numerous times, but the lizard didn't budge.

"Ivy!" Emma roared, approaching her. "You lied to us?"

"He wants me to assist him in the summoning of souls." Ivy smiled maliciously, stroking Kilik's shoulder.

"And you agreed?" Seung-Mina yelped, attempting to flatten Lizardman's foot.

Ivy shrugged, gazing at her newly altered weapon. "The Azure Knight breathed life into my sword."

"Do you not know what the 'summoning of souls' is?" Seung-Mina scowled, struggling in Lizardman's grip.

"That sword is Soul Edge!" Kilik grumbled furiously, trying to release Ivy's grasp.

"Silence!" Nightmare roared, swinging Soul Edge around him, pointing his mutated claws at Emma. "I must… devour her soul."

"My soul is not for the taking." Emma snarled.

Nightmare staggered towards her, thrusting Soul Edge at her, only to be blocked by Emma. She forced Soul Edge away from the Azure Knight, causing it to land behind him, leaving Nightmare defenceless. Emma rapidly swung Northern Star upwards, followed by Krita-Yuga. Everything unexpectedly appeared to be slow-motion, as Nightmare was suspended in mid air. Emma threw her swords in the air, making them twirl like batons, before catching them by the hilt, the blades facing downwards, her hands slightly together. She began to float upwards, hovering about half a metre above the ground, as Nightmare began to fall, until he was parallel to her. A large orb of white energy started to appear from the tips of the hilts, creating a destructive beam of light which propelled Nightmare into the wall behind him, as Emma gracefully somersaulted backwards.

"Only fate decides who you are. Destiny decides what you become." She said, as the world began to operate in normal motion. Lizardman squealed, galloping out of the room. Emma narrowed her eyes, pointing Northern Star at Ivy, who let go of Kilik immediately.

"I am so foolish. How did I not see that this knight was the host to Soul Edge?" Ivy whispered, putting her hand softly to her lips.

"It is ok Ivy." Emma sighed, as Ivy strode across the room, leaving the castle.

Emma and Kilik embraced tightly, as the room fell silent once again. Soul Edge managed to slide into the moonlight as Emma finished Nightmare off, the unconscious Siegfried wounded against the wall. His helm fell off, and most of his armour was shattered.

"You cannot seek redemption through massacre, Siegfried." Emma whispered as she knelt beside him.

Siegfried looked at her with a tear in his eye. "I have realised this. I must find forgiveness for my sins." Siegfried mumbled, "Please, destroy the sword. Relieve me of my nightmare."

Emma turned around, noticing Soul Edge. Sliding Northern Star away in its holder delicately, she paced towards Soul Edge with her heart beating rapidly. This is it, Emma thought as she stood in front of the renowned sword. Kneeling down, she held Krita-Yuga face down, both of her hands on the hilt, the tip of her blade inches away from Soul Edge's eye. Emma faced Kilik and Seung-Mina, who were watching her from a distance, then gradually turned towards Soul Edge again.

Emma screamed, thrusting Krita-Yuga into Soul Edge's eye, and then twisting it for good measure. Her grip on her sword tightened, her eyes widening. She sighed for a second, before she realised the stars on her hand were sprouting wisps of light. Five seconds later, both of her arms began to release light. The light abruptly shot into the sword, draining all of Emma's energy gradually. Kilik and Seung-Mina screamed, rushing towards her, only to be silenced by Emma.

"No… you don't understand." Emma softly spoke to them, closing her eyes. "My soul... I am…Soul Calibur." Her milky brown eyes now shone a pale blue, staring at the transforming sword.

"What…?" Kilik could only mutter, staring at her light coated body. Krita-Yuga's royal blue hilt faded into an icy blue, changing shape.

"You were Soul Calibur… all this time?" Seung-Mina exclaimed, putting her hands to her face.

"Yes… I don't know how… or why." Emma tried to explain. "I predicted this would happen." Emma breathed in heavily, closing her eyes. Soul Calibur was almost complete, and Emma was lifelessly gripping the sword. Kilik was now kneeling beside her, her head resting against his chest.

"Please don't leave me." Kilik muttered to her, hugging her.

Emma smiled. "I'll try not to. I…" Emma's sentence was drowned with a sigh. Her body was ice cold, the newly created Soul Calibur prodding out of Soul Edge.

Kilik shed a tear. Silence filled the room once more.

_A/N: Gasp! Let's start with the less obvious. I used Mina's and Kilik's Critical Finshes from Soul Calibur 4... COMBINED! (epic...) And I even created one for myself. At the beginning, Sophitia and Cassandra decide to face off Astaroth... remind you of Soul Calibur 3 intro? I added onto the battle too. Yes, I thought I made it clear as to why the sisters were even fighting the golem in the first place. Will Maxi, Sophitia and Cassandra escape from Astaroth? Is Nightmare truly dead? Will Emma survive, or die a happy death? Read the epilogue to find out. *insert kind offer to write a review for me here*_


	12. Epilogue

_A/N: I do not own Soul Calibur or its related characters. All rights go to Namco! (except Emma, which is me! Nobody owns me!) _

Epilogue

Siegfried crawled towards Soul Calibur, kneeling in front of it, staring at its blade, basking in the pale blue glow of the sword.

"Thank you." He whispered to the sword. "I will repay you. I shall find redemption. I promise."

Siegfried grasped Soul Calibur, releasing it from Soul Edge, raising it to the ceiling.

"The True Sword of Salvation… is born."

She opened her eyes, attempting to adjust to her surroundings. She stared at two faces. One was a girl, with a headband around her head; another was a man, a scar running down his cheek. She smiled.

"I'm alive." Emma croaked, raising her head. She was on a bed, facing a waterfall, the sun pouring through a balcony window. Emma looked at her hand. The stars had disappeared. "I'm back at… the temple? What happened?"

"We brought you back." Seung-Mina beamed. "We are so glad that you are alive."

"What happened to…?"

"We had to leave Soul Calibur." Kilik sighed, holding Emma's hand.

"No, I wasn't asking about Soul Calibur… although leaving Soul Calibur was the right thing to do. I meant… what happened to Maxi, and the Alexandras?"

Seung-Mina's smile dropped into a frown. "We couldn't find them."

A familiar figure burst through the bedroom door. "You didn't need to." A man in a white jacket and slacks stood at the door, leaning into the door frame with his arms folded.

"Maxi!" Seung-Mina exclaimed happily, rushing over to Maxi, embracing him. "I was so worried about you!"

"You honestly didn't need to be." Maxi chuckled, hugging her back. "How is Kilik's angel?"

Emma's eyes drooped. "I don't think I am an angel anymore. My powers are gone." She mumbled, raising her hand, to prove it wasn't glowing.

"So it was your powers that were drained, not your soul?" Seung-Mina pondered, tilting her head to one side.

"Pretty much." Emma laughed, placing her hand back to her side. "But what I don't understand is… Xianghua was supposed to create Soul Calibur… yet she didn't have powers like I did… Did she?"

"No." Kilik muttered, his eyes narrowing in thought.

There was a knock at the bedroom door, followed by a voice. "Excuse me, but may I come in?" A soft female voice asked them. Maxi opened the door, to let a young woman come in, her golden blonde hair twisted into a loose plait, her dark blue and white outfit fluttering in the breeze flowing from the balcony.

"Sophitia!" Emma grinned, "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be at home in Greece?"

Sophitia greeted her in her usual manner. "Yes, but I had to check if you were ok. Plus, I would like to thank you."

"For what?"

"For creating the true Sword of Salvation. The gods, especially Hephaestus, asked me to thank you for creating Soul Calibur, as it balances out the evil in Soul Edge."

Emma sighed with relief. "Thank you, for your help." Emma beamed, before Sophitia modestly smiled, persistent to tell her that she was only helping.

"So did you defeat Astaroth?" Seung-Mina asked Maxi, looking up at him.

Maxi's eyebrows lowered. "No, he ran away, like the coward he is. What happened to the Azure Knight?"

"We defeated him." Kilik smiled, "He returned to his former self, although we left Soul Calibur with him."

"Are you sure the Azure Knight isn't still alive? The evil in the knight has been vanquished?" Sophitia wondered aloud.

Emma frowned slightly. "Well, let's hope for the best, shall we?" She picked up Northern Star, which was lying on the floor next to her, and read it. "The Legend Never Dies."

_A/N: So did you enjoy my fanfiction? I hope so! If you do, review and tell me you like it so I consider writing more of these epic Soul Calibur fanfictions! I may write some Soul Calibur fanfictions more to the comedy side if I have time...In the meantime, I will still dream... _


End file.
